Connector housing with press fit boot seal

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9703051-B2
Application number	US-201314426490-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 6, 2013
Priority date	Sep 6, 2012
Publication date	Jul 11, 2017
Grant date	Jul 11, 2017

Abstract

A connector housing apparatus for allowing field engineers or technicians to run cable point to point, and to protect the connection in an environmentally sealed, crush resistant housing is provided. The connector housing apparatus includes a connector housing body, two sealing boots, two sealing elements, a fiber optic adapter, a fiber optic adapter insert that holds the fiber optic adapter and two fiber optic pigtails connected to two fiber optic cables. Each boot has two seal points. The first seal is between the fiber optic cable, the sealing element, and the tapered portion of the sealing boot. The second seal is between the interference lip on the sealing boot and the interference lip on the connector housing body.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A connector housing apparatus comprising:
a connector housing body;
a first sealing boot;
a second sealing boot;
a fiber optic adapter configured to connect to a first fiber optic pigtail and a second fiber optic pigtail; and
a fiber optic adapter insert that holds the fiber optic adapter, wherein,
the first sealing boot and the second sealing boot are connected to the connector body housing at opposite ends of the connector housing body such that the entire fiber optic adapter and entire fiber optic adapter insert are completely sealed within the connector housing body.

2. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first sealing element; and
a second sealing element; wherein,
a first fiber optic cable connected to the first fiber optic pigtail, the first sealing element and a tapered section of the first sealing boot form a first seal, and
a second fiber optic cable connected to the second fiber optic pigtail, the second sealing element and a tapered section of the second sealing boot form a second seal.

3. The connector housing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein,
the connector housing body comprises a first interface lip and a second interface lip at its opposite ends,
the first sealing boot comprises an interface lip,
the second sealing boot comprises an interface lip,
the first interface lip of the connecter housing body and the interface lip of the first sealing boot are connected to form a third seal; and
the second interface lip of the connecter housing body and the interface lip of the second sealing boot are connected to form a fourth seal.

4. The connector housing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein,
the connector housing body comprises a first snap finger and a second snap at its opposite ends,
the first sealing boot comprises a snap fit receiving catch,
the second sealing boot comprises a snap fit receiving catch,
the first snap finger of the connecter housing body and the snap fit receiving catch of the first sealing boot are connected to form a third seal; and
the second snap finger of the connecter housing body and the snap fit receiving catch of the second sealing boot are connected to form a fourth seal.

5. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the connector housing body comprises a connector housing body shoulder and connector housing body threads allowing for installation of the connector housing apparatus on an enclosure.

6. The connector housing apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising a locking nut, wherein, when the first sealing boot is removed, the connector housing apparatus can be mounted onto an exterior surface of the enclosure using the locking nut.

7. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the fiber optic adapter insert comprises a depression on its surface which snaps into a protrusion on the inner surface of the connector housing body.

8. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein,
the fiber optic adapter insert comprises a cutout which can be modified to accommodate a variety of fiber optic adapters,
the fiber optic adapter insert cutout can be modified to accommodate one or more adapters, and
the fiber optic adapter insert comprises an anti rotation key section which locks with a linear rib molded into inner bore of the connector housing body.

9. The connector housing apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the variety of fiber optic adapters is one of a simplex FC, simplex ST, simplex LC, simplex SC, simplex MU, duplex LC, duplex MU, and MPO/MTP adapter.

10. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the tapered section of the first sealing boot and the tapered section of the second sealing boot comprise line markings allowing for a user to size the opening of the first sealing boot and the second sealing boot according to the diameter of a first fiber optic cable and a second fiber optic cable respectively.

11. The connector housing apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first sealing element and the second sealing element are at least one of b-sealing tape, closed cell foam tape, compressible elastomer and molded grommet.

12. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein,
the first sealing boot forms a seal which protects against the effect of immersion in a liquid to a depth of up to 1 m, and
the second sealing boot forms a seal which protects against the effect of immersion in a liquid to a depth of up to 1 m.

13. The connector housing apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the connector housing body shoulder and the connector housing body are sized to fit National Pipe Taper (NPT) port sizes.

14. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein,
the first fiber optic pigtail comprises a fiber optic connector body and a fiber optic connector boot,
the second fiber optic pigtail comprises a fiber optic connector body and a fiber optic connector boot, and
the fiber optic connector body of the first fiber optic pigtail and the fiber optic connector body of the second fiber optic pigtail are connected with the fiber optic adapter.

15. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first O-Ring; and
a second O-Ring, wherein,
the connector housing body comprises a first groove which holds the first O-Ring and a second groove which holds the second O-Ring,
when the first sealing boot is connected to the connector housing body, the first sealing boot, the first O-Ring and the connector housing body form a seal, and
when the second sealing boot is connected to the connector housing body, the second sealing boot, the second O-Ring and the connector housing body form a seal.

16. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising:
a first O-Ring; and
a second O-Ring, wherein,
the first sealing boot comprises a first groove on its interior surface which holds the first O-Ring,
the second sealing boot comprises a second groove on its interior surface which holds the second O-Ring,
when the first sealing boot is connected to the connector housing body, the first sealing boot, the first O-Ring and the connector housing body form a seal, and
when the second sealing boot is connected to the connector housing body, the second sealing boot, the second O-Ring and the connector housing body form a seal.

17. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the connector housing apparatus can be disassembled and reassembled.

18. The connector housing apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the connector housing apparatus can be mounted to a bulkhead in at least one of a single and gang mounted manner.

Assignees

• Afl Telecommunications Llc

Inventors

• Lichoulas Ted
• Kimbrell Eddie

Classifications

• G02B6/3846

  with fibre stubs · CPC title

• G02B6/3887

  Anchoring optical cables to connector housings, e.g. strain relief features · CPC title

• G02B6/4478

  Bending relief means · CPC title

• G02B6/3894 Primary

  Screw-lock type · CPC title

• G02B6/3825 Primary

  with an intermediate part, e.g. adapter, receptacle, linking two plugs · CPC title