Optical fiber assembly

Abstract

An optical assembly includes a housing with a plurality of receptacles. An optical shield member having a resilient, arcuate shaped deflectable arm may extend across each receptacle. The receptacles may include a pair of resilient, spaced apart ferrule retention arms for securing an optical fiber ferrule within the receptacle. A release member operates to move the retention arms to release the ferrule for removal from the receptacle. A dust cover may be associated with each receptacle and include a receptacle sealing portion removably attachable to seal the receptacle and a flexible cable engaging section to removably attach the dust cover to a cable assembly. The housing may include a housing member with a plurality of pairs of aligned cavities. A plurality of first and second adapter inserts are inserted into the cavities and are configured to receive respective first and second optical fiber connectors therein.

1 . An optical assembly comprising:
 a housing;   a plurality of receptacles on the housing, each receptacle being configured to receive an optical fiber connector therein; and   an optical shield member having a resilient, deflectable arcuate-shaped arm extending across each receptacle.   
     
     
         2 . The assembly of  claim 1 , wherein each receptacle has a leading edge and the deflectable arm defines a concave surface relative to the leading edge of the receptacle. 
     
     
         3 . (canceled) 
     
     
         4 . The assembly of  claim 1 , further including a plurality of adapter inserts, each adapter insert including one of the receptacles and one of the optical shield members mounted therein, the housing having a plurality of cavities with an adapter insert mounted in each cavity. 
     
     
         5 . (canceled) 
     
     
         6 . The assembly of  claim 1 , further including a mounting section for mounting each optical shield member relative to its respective receptacle. 
     
     
         7 . The assembly of  claim 6 , wherein each optical shield is generally 7-shaped. 
     
     
         8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . The assembly of  claim 1 , further including a light source mounted on the housing aligned with each receptacle. 
     
     
         10 . (canceled) 
     
     
         11 . An optical fiber assembly comprising:
 a housing having a receptacle for receiving optical fiber connectors therein;   a pair of resilient, spaced apart ferrule retention arms associated with the receptacle, each retention arm having a latching shoulder for securing an optical fiber ferrule within the receptacle, the retention arms being movable between a retention position and a release position, at the retention position the retention arms are positioned to retain the optical fiber ferrule within the receptacle and at the release position the retention arms are spaced apart to permit the optical fiber ferrule to be removed; and   a resilient release member positioned adjacent the retention arms, the release member being movable between a first operative position and a second operative position, at the second position the release member is in engagement with the pair of retention arms to position the retention arms at their second positions.   
     
     
         12 . The assembly of  claim 11 , wherein movement of the release member from its first position to its second position moves the retention arms from their retention position to their release position. 
     
     
         13 . (canceled) 
     
     
         14 . (canceled) 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the release member is a release arm and further including a second resilient release arm positioned adjacent the retention arms, the second release arm being movable between a first operative position and a second operative position, and at the second position the release arm is in engagement with the pair of retention arms to position the retention arms at their second positions. 
     
     
         17 . The assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the release member includes a pair of spaced apart release projections that extend generally in a direction of movement of the release member as the release member moves between the first operative position and the second operative position, each release projection having a surface for engaging the retention arms. 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The assembly of  claim 11 , wherein the receptacle has an insertion axis along which the ferrule is inserted into the receptacle, and the retention arms and the release member extend generally parallel to the insertion axis. 
     
     
         20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . (canceled) 
     
     
         22 . (canceled) 
     
     
         23 . The assembly of  claim 11 , further including the optical fiber ferrule having a plurality of optical fibers secured therein. 
     
     
         24 . An optical assembly comprising:
 a housing, the housing having a plurality of receptacles, each receptacle being configured to receive an optical fiber connector therein; and   a plurality of dust covers, each dust cover including a receptacle sealing portion removably attachable to enclose one of the receptacles to seal the receptacle and a flexible cable engaging section extending therefrom, the cable engaging section being removably attachable to a cable assembly mounted in one of the receptacles.   
     
     
         25 . The assembly of  claim 24 , wherein the cable engaging section is generally circular with an opening along an outer peripheral surface to permit a cable of an optical fiber connector to pass laterally therethrough. 
     
     
         26 . The assembly of  claim 24 , wherein the cable engaging section includes a pair of generally arcuate arms and a cable receiving opening between distal ends of the arcuate arms. 
     
     
         27 . The assembly of  claim 24 , wherein the housing includes a projection defining each receptacle and the dust cover has a cavity that extends over the projection to seal the receptacle. 
     
     
         28 . (canceled) 
     
     
         29 . (canceled) 
     
     
         30 . An optical housing assembly comprising:
 a housing member having a first face and a second face, the first face having a plurality of first cavities and the second face having a plurality of second cavities, each of the first cavities being aligned with one of the second cavities, each of the first cavities and each of the second cavities having a housing locking member, the housing member including a wall with an opening between each pair of aligned first and second cavities;   a plurality of first adapter inserts, each first adapter insert having a first mounting section inserted into one of the first cavities, a first receptacle configured to receive a first optical fiber connector therein, and a first connector latching member configured to interact with a first latching structure of the first optical fiber connector; and   a plurality of second adapter inserts, each second adapter insert having a second mounting section inserted into one of the second cavities, a second receptacle configured to receive a second optical fiber connector therein, and a second connector latching member configured to interact with a second latching structure of the second optical fiber connector;   each of the first adapter inserts and each of the second adapter inserts having an adapter insert locking member associated with their respective mounting sections, each adapter insert locking member being configured to interact with one of the housing locking members to lock the adapter inserts in respective ones of the receptacles of the housing.   
     
     
         31 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the opening between each pair of aligned first and second cavities is rectangular and substantially smaller than the first receptacle and the second receptacle. 
     
     
         32 . (canceled) 
     
     
         33 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein one of the housing locking members and the adapter insert locking members has an opening and another of the housing locking members and the adapter insert locking members has a projection extending into the opening. 
     
     
         34 . (canceled) 
     
     
         35 . The assembly of  claim 30 , wherein the first receptacle of each adapter insert is located within the first cavity associated with the adapter insert.