Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 2964556 2017-04-13
STUBBED TERMINAL HOUSING FOR COMMUNICATIONS VAULT OR PEDESTAL
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to buried and underground communication
transmission lines and related devices, and more particularly to a stubbed
terminal
housing for fiber optic transmission lines for use in communication vaults
including
underground or grade level boxes including those incorporating a pedestal
housing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Various electrical and fiber optic communication transmission lines or other
equipment used for buried and underground utilities are commonly contained in
enclosures that protect the underground wiring cables, fiber taps and splices,
service
lines, etc. from the environment. Initial construction often requires
installation of such
a below-ground enclosure, commonly referred to as a grade level utility vault
or box.
At a later date, if services are to be provided to the premises, the cover for
the grade
level box is removed and connections are made inside and/or in the above-
ground
pedestal housing mounted on the grade level box. The above-ground connections
are
protected from the weather but also must be protected from vandalism and
tampering.
There is also a need to provide a pedestal housing assembly that can be
readily
installed and opened to facilitate further connections and/or service with
minimal time
and labor costs.
The present invention is applicable to any system for storing and protecting
underground or buried electrical conductors and devices from the environment
and for
facilitating access to them while making further connections, providing
service, making
new installations, and the like. The invention is applicable to electrical
utility
connections normally using buried or underground lines or connections such a
cable
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TV, data transmission lines, various types of telecommunications, optical
fiber
connections, commonly referred to as "fiber to the premises," services lines,
water
meters, electrical power distribution, and other utilities equipment.
One embodiment of the invention provides an optical fiber distribution and
vault
system for making service connections to optical fiber contacts initially
contained in a
grade level box. A pedestal housing can be incorporated with the vault or box
which is
used to bring the fiber taps and splices above ground. Incorporated within the
vault or
box or in the pedestal housing are tethered or stubbed fiber optic terminals,
however
the current design for such terminals are not ideal for use in utility vault
or box and
pedestal housing deployment. Commercially available stubbed terminals have
angled
ports which create closure cover interference making them impractical for use
for both
pedestal and grade level vault deployments. Consequently, a need exists for an
improved stubbed fiber optic terminal which is suitable for use in both
pedestal
housing and grade level vault deployments.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One embodiment of the invention comprises a tethered or stubbed fiber optic
terminal housing for deployment in a grade level box/utility vault or a
pedestal housing
which includes a main housing and an attachment portion for providing a slip
fit with a
pedestal state located within the pedestal housing. Alternatively the housing
can be
mounted on a bracket within the pedestal or vault or attached directly to a
pedestal
faceplate or the wall of the vault by a threaded fastener. The terminal
housing
includes an interior cavity and a plurality of openings where the main fiber
optic cable
can enter into the housing through an opening and be split or separated such
that
individual fibers of the fiber optic cable can exit the housing individually
through an
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array of stubbed ports allowing the individual fibers to make connections to
other
locations within the pedestal or vault.
Accordingly, there is described a stubbed terminal housing for attachment
within a utility vault or a utility vault pedestal for fiber optic cable
management within
the utility vault or within the utility vault pedestal comprising: a housing
having a body
portion having a housing cavity, the housing having a cylindrical fiber optic
cable port
integrally extending from the body portion away from the housing cavity for
receipt and
entry of a fiber optic cable into the housing cavity and a plurality of
cylindrical fiber
optic fiber ports integrally extending from the body portion away from the
housing
cavity for receipt and for exiting of individual fiber optic fibers out of the
housing cavity;
and an integral mounting portion attached to and extending from a side wall of
the
body portion away from the housing cavity, the integral mounting portion
including a
top wall and side walls forming a mounting portion cavity for receipt of a
bracket in the
utility vault or a pedestal stake within the utility vault pedestal into the
mounting portion
cavity for attachment of the stubbed terminal housing.
There is also described a communications pedestal comprising: a faceplate; a
pedestal stake positioned within the communications pedestal; a stubbed
terminal
housing for fiber optic cable management within the communications pedestal
having
a body portion, a cavity within the body portion, a cylindrical fiber optic
cable port
integrally extending from the body portion away from the cavity for receipt
and entry of
a fiber optic cable into the cavity, a plurality of cylindrical fiber optic
fiber ports
integrally extending from the body portion away from the cavity for receipt
and exiting
of individual fiber optic fibers out of the cavity, and a mounting portion
extending from
a side wall of the body portion, the mounting portion having a top wall and
side walls
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forming a mounting portion cavity together with the side wall of the body
portion for
receipt of an end of the pedestal stake within the mounting portion cavity for
attaching
the stubbed terminal housing to the pedestal stake.
In a further aspect, there is described a communications vault comprising: a
plurality of substantially vertical sidewalls; a bracket attached to at least
one vertical
side wall of the plurality of side walls of the communications vault; and a
stubbed
terminal housing for fiber optic cable management within the communications
vault
having a body portion, a cavity within the body portion, a cylindrical fiber
optic cable
port integrally extending from the body portion away from the cavity for
receipt and
entry of a fiber optic cable in the cavity, a plurality of cylindrical fiber
optic fiber ports
integrally extending from the body portion away from the cavity for receipt
and exiting
of individual fiber optic fibers out of the cavity, and a mounting portion
extending from
a side wall of the body portion, the mounting portion having a top wall and
side walls
forming a mounting portion cavity together with the side wall of the body
portion for
receipt of an end of the bracket within the mounting portion cavity for
attaching the
stubbed terminal housing to the communications vault.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the stubbed terminal housing of the present
invention;
Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the terminal housing of Fig. 1;
Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the terminal housing of Fig. 1;
Fig. 4 is an exploded view of a pedestal housing incorporating the terminal
housing of Fig. 1; and
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Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a pedestal housing and vault combination
wherein the terminal housing of Fig. 1 is positioned within the vault.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
As shown in Figs. 1 through 3
the present invention is directed to a stubbed
terminal housing 10 for use in a grade level communications vault 12 and/or
pedestal
housing assembly 14 as illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. The stubbed terminal
housing
includes a main body portion 16 and an attachment portion 18. The main body
portion
includes a domed upper surface 20 and a substantially flat lower surface 22
having a
main fiber optic cable port 24 extending perpendicularly downward therefrom
and an
array of secondary fiber optic fiber ports 26 also extending perpendicularly
downward
therefrom. As illustrated in Fig. 2, there is an array of 12 secondary fiber
ports,
however this number can vary depending upon the particular application. The
housing
typically is made of plastic which can be molded although other materials and
manufacturing processes can be utilized.
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The attachment portion 18 includes a cavity 28 formed by an opening in its
lower surface 30 so that the housing can be mounted on top of a pedestal stake
32 as
shown in Fig. 3. Attachment portion 18 also includes a fastener bore 34 formed
along
its upper surface 36 for receipt of a mechanical fastener 38 for attachment
applications
discussed subsequently herein.
The main body portion 16 is hollow in that the bottom section 22 attaches to
the
domed section 20 to provide a hollow interior cavity 40 in which a signal
splitter 42 can
be positioned wherein the fiber optic cable 44 that enters into the housing
through
main fiber optic cable port 24 attaches and individual fiber optic fibers 46
extend off the
.. splitter and exit the cavity 40 through secondary fiber optic fiber ports
26. For the
example illustrated in Fig. 3, the splitter 42 is 1x12 splitter thereby
splitting the signal
carried by cable 44 into twelve signals through each of individual fibers 46.
In other
applications no splitter is contained within the cavity of the housing but the
cavity
serves as the location to fan out the individual optic fibers 46 from cable 44
for the
particular communications application.
Referring to Figs. 4 and 5 the stubbed terminal housing 10 can be positioned
on
a pedestal stake 32 within the pedestal housing 14 with a slip fit by
positioning the
attachment portion 18 on an end of the terminal housing. Alternatively, if the
pedestal
stake is damaged or otherwise not available for mounting, the housing can be
attached by fastener 38 to a bracket 50 or directly to a pedestal faceplate
52. As
shown in Fig. 5 when the stubbed terminal housing 10 is used in the grade
level vault
12 the threaded fastener 38 can be used to mount the housing to a bracket 54
or
directly to a wall 56 of the vault. By incorporating the stubbed terminal
housing for
transitioning a fiber optic cable into individual fibers it provides the ideal
layout and
allows the grade level vaults and pedestal housings to be smaller and more
compact.
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Although the present invention has been described and illustrated with respect
to an embodiment thereof, it is to be understand that changes and
modifications can
be made therein which are within the full intended scope of the invention as
hereinafter
claimed. For example, the cable inlet port, although illustrated as circular,
can be oval
or slotted in shape to accommodate other forms of fiber optic cables, such as
ribbon
cables. Similarly, the fiber optic fiber outlet ports can be positioned on
another surface
of the housing depending upon the particular application to efficiently
utilize the space
provided in the pedestal or communications vault.
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