AU2020202794B2 - Terminal box for optical fiber and power line composite cable and terminal box system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite cable, which has improved workability of connection with an optical fiber and power line composite cable in a base station, and a terminal box system. 44

Description

Australian Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARDPATENT

Invention Title Terminal box for optical fiber and power line composite cable and terminal box system

The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:

TECHNICAL FIELD

[01] The present disclosure relates to a terminal box

for an optical fiber and power line composite cable and a terminal

box system. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to

a terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite cable,

which has improved workability of splits and connections with an

optical fiber and power line composite cable in a base station,

and a terminal box system.

BACKGROUND

[01A] Conventionally, for mobile communication, a

communication signal is transmitted from a key communication

station or the like to a base station and a radio-frequency (RF)

signal transmitted from a base transceiver station (BTS) of the

base station is transmitted wirelessly via an antenna of the base

station. A radio signal transmitted from a user's portable

terminal is received via the antenna of the base station, amplified

by a tower mounted amplifier (TMA), and transmitted to the BTS.

[02] In this case, the BTS, the TMA, and the antenna of

the base station are connected to one another via a coaxial feeder

la but signal loss in the coaxial feeder increases as the length of a cable is increased. When the antenna is installed at a tower having a height of several tens of meters, signal loss in the coaxial feeder connecting the base station on the ground and the antenna increases. Thus, a signal transmitted from the base station does not reach signal intensity required at the antenna and attenuates due to the signal loss in the coaxial feeder.

Accordingly, the TMA is installed to compensate for the attenuation

of the signal and amplify the signal.

[03] However, a relatively large amount of power is

consumed by the TMA to amplify the signal and thus maintenance

costs of the whole system are high. Accordingly, the efficiency

of the TMA is low.

[04] With the advancement of FTTx (Fiber to the X) and a

decrease in the size of a repeater, base station equipment has been

developed. A signal attenuation rate in an optical unit according

to a cable length among the base station equipment is very lower

than that in a coaxial cable. Remote radio head (RRH) which is

technology employing the above-described advantage of the optical

unit has been introduced, whereby an optical signal is transmitted

right before an antenna of a based station to minimize signal loss and is converted into an RF signal, which can be emitted, right before the antenna.

[05] RRH may make up for disadvantages of a mobile

communication base station using the TMA, e.g., high power

consumption and an inefficient maintenance method. In RRH, a

remote RF unit (RRU) is separated from a BTS, arranged below an

antenna of a tower of a base station, and remotely controlled.

[06] Here, in RRH, remaining part, i.e., a baseband unit

(BBU) and a power supply unit (PSU), of the BTS from which the RRU

is separated are connected to the RRU via an optical fiber and

power line composite cable having an optical unit in which signal

attenuation hardly occurs according to a cable length and a power

unit. Accordingly, a communication signal is supplied to the RRU

from the BBU via the optical unit of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable, and power is supplied to the RRU from the

PSU via the power unit of the optical fiber and power line composite

cable.

[07] Since the RRU may be installed right below the

antenna of the base station at the top of the tower of the base

station, a length of a coaxial feeder supplying a signal converted

into an RF signal by the RRU to the antenna may be minimized and thus attenuation of the RF signal when transmitted via a coaxial line may not be a serious problem. Accordingly, a degree of attenuation of the signal right before the signal is emitted may be minimized and thus the TMA which consumes a large amount of power is not needed. The technical features of the RRH are advantageous in terms of maintenance of the base station.

[08] In such an RRH system, the BBU, the PSU, and the

RRU are connected to one another via a terminal box for an optical

fiber and power line composite cable.

[09] That is, in the optical fiber and power line

composite cable connected to the base station, a plurality of

optical units and a plurality of power units are provided in the

form of a cable. Accordingly, the BBU, the PSU, and a plurality

of RRUs cannot be directly connected to the optical fiber and power

line composite cable and thus the RRUs and terminal boxes for the

optical fiber and power line composite cable may be connected using

a separate jumper cable.

[10] In order to connect an optical fiber and power line

composite cable to a plurality of jumper cables, a plurality of

power units and a plurality of optical units of the optical fiber

and power line composite cable should be connected to power units and optical units of the jumper cables inside a terminal box, for a cable, through a connector or the like.

[11] As the number of base-station antennas is increased

according to a telecommunication company or a communication method,

the number of remote radio units (RRUs) or terminal boxes should

be increased accordingly. Thus it will take much time and efforts

for a base-station management worker to perform connection work by

stripping the optical fiber and power line composite cable and

connecting the power units and the optical units of the cable to

the power units and the optical units of the jumper cables inside

the terminal box.

[12] Therefore, there is a demand for improvement of

connection work of a terminal box for connection of an optical

fiber and power line composite cable and a jumper cable in an

environment in which the number of communication companies or the

types of communication methods are rapidly increasing and changing.

[13] There have been introduced a method of installing

in a base station an optical fiber and power line composite cable

and a terminal box while the cable and the terminal box are

connected to each other and a method of installing a cable connector

at an end of an optical fiber and power line composite cable and connecting the cable connector to a cable connection unit included in a terminal box.

[14] The former method is disadvantageous in that it is

not easy to lift an optical fiber and power line composite cable

to a base station antenna located at a height of several tens of

meters with a terminal box mounted at an end of the optical fiber

and power line composite cable, it is necessary to secure a passage

sufficient to allow the terminal box to pass therethrough during

the lifting of the terminal box and the optical fiber and power

line composite cable ,to the base station antenna, and the terminal

box which is bulky is likely to be damaged during transfer.

[15] In the case of the latter method, when an optical

fiber and power line composite cable is lifted and connected to a

terminal box while the terminal box is installed at a base station

tower, it is not easy to connect the optical fiber and power line

composite cable to the terminal box due to the weight of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable. In particular, because a

connection terminal of the optical fiber and power line composite

cable and a connection terminal of a cable connection unit of the

terminal box should be aligned and combined to accurately match

each other, connection work thereof is very difficult, and it is

very difficult for one worker to connect the optical fiber and power line composite cable to the terminal box while bearing the load of the optical fiber and power line composite cable.

[15A] It is desired to address or ameliorate one or more

disadvantages or limitations associated with the prior art, or to

at least provide a useful alternative.

SUMMARY

[15B] According to the present invention there is provided

a terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite cable,

which splits and connects at least one optical fiber and power line

composite cable having a plurality of power units and a plurality

of optical units to a plurality of jumper cables, the terminal box

comprising:

a housing, one side of which is open and which includes an

accommodation space therein and a door for selectively opening and

closing the accommodation space;

a plurality of jumper connection units provided on an outer

side of the housing and each including an optical terminal and a

power terminal for detachably mounting a jumper connector of the

jumper cable;

a power unit connection part to which a plurality of power

units of the optical fiber and power line composite cable introduced into the housing and a plurality of connection power units connected to the power terminal of the jumper connection unit are connected; and an optical unit connection part which is mounted in front of the power unit connection part and to which the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable introduced into the housing and a first connection optical unit connected to the optical terminal of the jumper connection unit are connected, wherein the optical unit connection part comprises an optical unit housing, and a second connection optical unit is provided in the optical unit housing, the second connection optical unit being configured to connect the first connection optical unit and the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable, and, wherein the first connection optical unit and the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable are connected on an outer side of the optical unit housing via an optical connector disposed to be inclined upward at both side surfaces of the optical unit housing.

[15C] According to the present invention there is further

provided an optical fiber and power line composite terminal box

system comprising: the above terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite cable, the terminal box being installed at a base station tower; at least one optical fiber and power line composite cable including a plurality of optical units and a plurality of power units and introduced via a bottom surface of the terminal box, the plurality of optical units being provided in a central region of the at least one optical fiber and power line composite cable and connected between a baseband unit (BBU) outside the base station tower and the terminal box, and the plurality of power units being arranged around the plurality of optical units and connected between a power supply unit (PSU) outside the base station tower and the terminal box; and a plurality of jumper cables connected between the terminal box and a remote radio-frequency (RF) unit (RRU) installed at the base station tower, including at least one optical unit an at least one power unit, and connected to a jumper connection unit on an outer side of a housing of the terminal box.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[15D] Some embodiments of the present invention are

hereinafter described, by way of non-limiting example only, with

reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[15E] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a

base station in which a terminal box for an optical fiber and power

line composite cable and a system therefor are installed, according

to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[15F] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of an optical fiber

and power line composite cable introduced and split or connected

in a terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite

cable, according to the present disclosure;

[15G] FIG. 3 illustrates an internal structure of a

terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite cable,

with a cover thereof open according to the present disclosure;

[15H] FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which an optical unit

connection part is unfolded forward while a cover of a door of the

terminal box, for the photoelectric composite cable, of FIG. 3 is

open;

[151] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a state in which a

power unit and a connection power unit are connected via a power unit connection part while the optical unit connection part of FIG.

4 is unfolded forward; and

[15J] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a state in which a

cover of an optical unit connection part is separated and an optical

unit and a connection optical unit are connected while the door of

the terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite

cable, of FIG. 3 is open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[16] The present disclosure is directed to providing a

terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line composite cable,

which has improved workability of connection with an optical fiber

and power line composite cable in a base station, and a terminal

box system.

[17] To achieve these objects, the present disclosure

provides a terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line

composite cable, which splits and connects at least one optical

fiber and power line composite cable having a plurality of power

units and a plurality of optical units to a plurality of jumper

cables, the terminal box comprising: a housing, one side of which

is open and which includes an accommodation space therein and a

door for selectively opening and closing the accommodation space; a plurality of jumper connection units provided on an outer side of the housing and each including an optical terminal and a power terminal for detachably mounting a jumper connector of the jumper cable; a power unit connection part to which a plurality of power units of the optical fiber and power line composite cable introduced into the housing and a plurality of connection power units connected to the power terminal of the jumper connection unit are connected; and an optical unit connection part which is mounted in front of the power unit connection part and to which the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable introduced into the housing and a first connection optical unit connected to the optical terminal of the jumper connection unit are connected.

[18] And the power unit connection part may be provided

on an inner side of the accommodation space facing a door for

closing the accommodation space.

[19] And the optical unit connection part may be hinge

coupled to an inner lateral side of the housing to be rotatable so

as to expose the power unit connection part in a forward direction.

[20] And the optical unit connection part may comprise

an optical unit housing, wherein a second connection optical unit

is provided in the optical unit housing, the second connection

optical unit being configured to connect the first connection optical unit and the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable.

[21] And the first connection optical unit and the

optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable

may be connected on an outer side of the optical unit housing via

an optical connector.

[22] And the second connection optical unit and the first

connection optical unit may be connected on an outer side of the

optical unit housing via an optical connector.

[23] And the optical connector may comprise a multiple

fiber push-on (MPO) optical connector.

[24] And the first connection optical unit and the

optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable

may be arranged along inner edges of the housing after being

connected via the optical connector, while bypassing around the

power unit connection part.

[25] And the housing may have a rectangular

parallelepiped shape, the optical fiber and power line composite

cable may be introduced into the housing through a bottom surface

of the housing, and the jumper connection unit to which the jumper

cable is connected is provided on the bottom surface of the housing.

[26] And the power unit of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable and the connection power unit may be connected

to the power unit connection part in a horizontal direction.

[27] And to achieve these objects, the present disclosure

provides an optical fiber and power line composite terminal box

system comprising: the terminal box, for an optical fiber and power

line composite cable, of any one of claims 1 to 10, the terminal

box being installed at a base station tower; at least one optical

fiber and power line composite cable including a plurality of

optical units and a plurality of power units and introduced via a

bottom surface of the terminal box, the plurality of optical units

being provided in a central region of the at least one optical

fiber and power line composite cable and connected between a

baseband unit (BBU) outside the base station tower and the terminal

box, and the plurality of power units being arranged around the

plurality of optical units and connected between a power supply

unit (PSU) outside the base station tower and the terminal box;

and a plurality of jumper cables connected between the terminal

box and a remote radio-frequency (RF) unit (RRU) installed at the

base station tower, including at least one optical unit an at least

one power unit, and connected to a jumper connection unit on an

outer side of a housing of the terminal box.

[28] [Blank]

[29] [Blank]

[30] [Blank]

[31] [Blank]

[32] [Blank]

[33] [Blank]

[34] Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present

disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the

accompanying drawings. The present disclosure is, however, not

limited thereto and may be embodied in many different forms. Rather,

the embodiments set forth herein are provided so that this

disclosure may be thorough and complete and fully convey the scope

of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Throughout the

specification, the same reference numbers represent the same

elements.

[35] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of a

remote radio head (RRH) type base station system 1 in which a

terminal box 1200 for an optical fiber and power line composite

cable is installed, according to an embodiment of the present

disclosure .

[36] Referring to FIG. 1, in the RRH type base station

system 1, a remote radio-frequency (RF) unit (RRU) 40 is separated from an existing base transceiver station (BTS) type base station, disposed at the bottom of an antenna 20 for installation of a base station, and remotely controlled.

[37] Here, in the RRH type base station system 1, a

remaining part 10, i.e., a baseband unit (BBU) and a power supply

unit (PSU), of the existing BTS type base station from which the

RRU 40 is separated and the RRU 40 is connected to an optical fiber

and power line composite cable 100 which includes an optical unit

130 in which attenuation hardly occurs per length and a power unit

110.

[38] Communication signals from the BBU and the PSU are

supplied to the RRU 40 via the optical unit 130 of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100, and power is supplied to

the RRU 40 via the power unit 110 of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 100.

[39] Because the RRU 40 may be installed at the top of a

base station tower and directly below the antenna 20, a coaxial

line 30 for supplying an RF signal obtained through conversion by

the RRU 40 to the antenna 20 may be minimized in length, thus

preventing the occurrence of RF signal attenuation during transfer

of the RF signal via the coaxial line 30. Therefore, the amount

of attenuation of a signal immediately before emission of the signal may be minimized, and an existing tower-mounted amplifier

(TMA) consuming a large amount of power is not required. The

technical features are strong points of an RRH in terms of

maintenance of a base station.

[40] In the RRH type base station system 1, the part 10

consisting of the BBU and the PSU and the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 100 are connected via the terminal box 1200

for an optical fiber and power line composite cable, as illustrated

in FIG. 1.

[41] The optical unit 130 (see FIG. 2) of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 is connected to the BBU,

and the power unit 110 (see FIG. 2) is connected to the PSU.

[42] That is, the optical fiber and power line composite

cable 100 is a cable consisting of a plurality of optical units

and a plurality of power units and thus cannot be directly connected

to the part 10 consisting of the BBU and the PSU and various types

of optical units installed at one base station tower. Each of the

optical units and the power units of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 100 may be pulled out of the terminal box 1200

for an optical fiber and power line composite cable and then

connected to a plurality of RRUs 40 via the jumper cable 50.

[43] In recent years, various types of portable terminals

have been introduced, new type terminals and old-fashioned

terminals employing different communication methods according to

communication generations coexist, and a base station tower at

which the antenna 20 forming an RRH between mobile carriers is

installed has been shared. Thus, as equipment such as an RRU for

forming dozens of RRHs and the like are installed at the top of

one base station tower, a limited installation space of the base

station tower becomes insufficient and installation costs increase.

[44] Therefore, when a worker performs a work through

the terminal box 1200, a considerable work time is required to

connect the optical unit 130 and the power unit 110 of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 to the power unit and the

power unit of the jumper cable 50.

[45] Accordingly, the present disclosure provides the

terminal box 1200, for an optical fiber and power line composite

cable, into which the optical fiber and power line composite cable

100 is mountable while the terminal box 1200 is installed at a base

station tower and to which the optical unit 130 and the power unit

110 of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 are

easily connectable only by one worker.

[46] A structure of an optical fiber and power line

composite cable will be first described and thereafter the terminal

box 1200 for an optical fiber and power line composite cable

according to the present disclosure will be described in detail

below.

[47] FIG. 2 illustrates an optical fiber and power line

composite cable according to an embodiment.

[48] Referring to FIG. 2, an optical fiber and power line

composite cable 100 may include a cable core 105 and a sheath layer

150 covering the cable core 105.

[49] The cable core 105 may include a plurality of power

units 110 for supplying power and a plurality of optical units 130

for transmitting optical signals.

[50] A central tensile wire 145 may be provided at the

center of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100,

and the plurality of optical units 130 may be provided around the

central tensile wire 145 in a lengthwise direction of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100.

[51] A protective layer 140 may be further provided

outside the plurality of optical units 130 to protect the plurality

of optical units 130.

[52] The optical unit 130 may be configured as any form

including an optical fiber for transmission of an optical signal,

and may include, for example, an optical fiber 133 with at least

one core and a tube 135 covering the optical fiber 133. The tube

135 may be formed of, for example, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT),

polypropylene, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, or the like. In

addition, the inside of the tube 135 may be filled with a filler

137 such as jelly or waterproof yarn. For example, the inside of

the tube 135 may be filled with jelly or a tensile member (not

shown) such as aramid yarn. The tensile member is excellent in

tensile strength and flexible and thus secures stable installment

of a cable.

[53] In addition, as described below, the optical unit

130 may include a plurality of optical fibers and be connected to

a Multiple-fiber Push-On (MPO) type optical connector and thus the

plurality of optical fibers may be pulled out of the optical unit

130 and connected to a plurality of jumper cables.

[54] The optical unit 130 may be configured as a desired

form among various forms such as a tight buffer type and a loose

tube type.

[55] Each of the power units 110 includes conductors 113

and an insulator 115 covering the conductors 113. Each of the power units 110 may be in a form conforming to a general-power standard and the conductors 113 may be twisted together. The conductors 113 may be formed of a metal such as copper or aluminum, and the insulator 115 may be formed of a polymer resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyvinyl chloride.

[56] When the optical unit 130 and the power unit 110

are compared with each other, the optical unit 130 is smaller in

diameter than the power unit 110 and the optical fiber 133 included

in the optical unit 130 is relatively vulnerable to bending or

breaking. Therefore, the optical unit 130 may be disposed in a

central region of the optical fiber and power line composite cable

100, the outside of the optical unit 130 may be covered with the

protective layer 140, and the power unit 110 may be disposed on an

outer circumferential surface of the protective layer 140.

[57] The cable core 105 may further include a filler 120

filling gaps between the plurality of power units 110 or the

plurality of optical units 130.

[58] The power units 110 each have a circular shape and

thus a void or clearance occurs between neighboring power units

110. Due to the above configuration, the entire exterior of the

optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 cannot be

maintained in a circular shape and thus the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 is vulnerable to bending or impact applied from the outside. Therefore, voids in the cable core 105 may be filled with the filler 120 and an outer shape of the filler 120 may be maintained in a circular shape, so that the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 may have a structure that can withstand external shocks and the like.

[59] The sheath layer 150 which is an outermost layer of

the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 forms the

exterior of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100

and protects the optical unit 130 and the power unit 110 of the

optical fiber and power line composite cable 100.

[60] The sheath layer 150 may be inscribed in the cable

core 105, and include a non-woven tape 151 covering the outer

circumference of the cable core 105, a metal protective layer 153

provided on the outside of the non-woven tape 151 to surround the

cable core 105 in a circular shape and protect the cable core 105

from external impacts, and an outer jacket 155 surrounding the

metal protective layer 153.

[61] The non-woven tape 151 is provided on the outside

of the cable core 105 to surround the outer circumference of the

cable core 105 and to surround the power unit 110 and the optical

unit 130 in a circular shape. The non-woven tape 151 may be a compressed non-woven fabric and be disposed to cover the optical unit 130 and the power unit 110 inside the non-woven tape 151. The non-woven tape 151 may be formed by cross-winding or vertically adding a tape type material.

[62] The metal protective layer 153 may be corrugated

such that peaks and valleys are repeatedly formed to cover the

cable core 105.

[63] For example, the metal protective layer 153 may be

in a corrugated form with alternating peaks and valleys and be

embodied as a metal pipe formed of aluminum or the like. A method

of forming the metal protective layer 153 will now be described.

A pipe having a certain diameter is manufactured by providing a

plate-type metal board together with the cable core 105 that

includes the optical unit 130 and the power unit 110, rolling the

metal board to cover the outside of the cable core 105, and bonding

both ends of the metal board, which are in contact with each other,

by welding or the like. Next, the pipe may be pressed at certain

intervals to form corrugations outside of the pipe.

[64] The outer jacket 155 may be formed of a resin which

has a flame-retardant property and is eco-friendly. For example,

the outer jacket 155 may be formed of polyethylene, polypropylene,

polyvinyl chloride (PVC), or the like.

[65] The optical fiber and power line composite cable

100 is connected to the jumper cable 50 connected to the RRU 40

after being split into the power unit 110 and the optical unit 130

inside the terminal box 1200.

[66] The terminal box 1200 for an optical fiber and power

line composite cable will be described in detail below.

[67] FIG. 3 illustrates an internal structure of a

terminal box 1200, for an optical fiber and power line composite

cable, with a cover thereof open according to the present

disclosure. FIG. 4 illustrates a state in which an optical unit

connection part 1600 is unfolded forward while a cover of a door

1230 of the terminal box 1200, for an optical fiber and power line

composite cable, of FIG. 3 is open.

[68] The terminal box 1200, for an optical fiber and

power line composite cable, according to the present disclosure is

configured to split and connect at least one optical fiber and

power line composite cable 100 having a plurality of power units

and a plurality of optical units to a plurality of jumper cables;

and may include a housing 1210 having one side open, an

accommodation space therein and the door 1230 for selectively

opening and closing the accommodation space; a plurality of jumper

connection units 1250 provided on an outer side of the housing 1210 and each including an optical terminal and a power terminal for detachably mounting a jumper connector of the jumper cable 50; a power unit connection part 1500 to which a plurality of connection power units 11 (see FIG. 5) connected to the plurality of power units 110 of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 introduced into the housing 1210 and the power terminals of the power unit connection part 1250 are connected; and the optical unit connection part 1600 which is installed in front of the power unit connection part 1500 and to which a first connection optical unit

13a (see FIG. 6) connected to the optical units 130 of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 introduced into the

housing 1210 and the optical terminals of the jumper connection

units 1250 are connected.

[69] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the terminal box 1200

according to the present disclosure may be connected to the part

10 consisting of the BBU and the PSU of FIG. 1 via the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 of FIG. 2.

[70] After the terminal box 1200 according to the present

disclosure is installed at a base station tower, power and data

may be supplied to a plurality of RRUs by introducing the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 into the terminal box

1200, splitting the optical fiber and power line composite cable

100 into the optical units 130 and the power units 110 inside the

terminal box 1200, and connecting the optical units 130 and the

power units 110 to the jumper cables 50 mounted in the terminal

box 1200.

[71] The terminal box 1200 according to the present

disclosure is configured to improve workability of installing,

splitting, and connecting an optical fiber and power line composite

cable at the base station tower.

[72] Accordingly, the terminal box 1200 according to the

present disclosure is configured to pull out the optical fiber and

power line composite cable 100, introduce and fix the optical fiber

and power line composite cable 100 into the terminal box 1200, and

split the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 into

each power unit 100 and each optical unit 130 for connection to

jumper connection unit, after installation of the terminal box 1200

at a base station tower, unlike an all-in-one system in which the

optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 and the terminal

box 1200 are integrally formed or a system configured to mount the

optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 into the terminal

box 1200 through a connector.

[73] In addition, an inner space of the housing 1210 of

the terminal box 1200 may be divided or separated into a space for connection and splitting of power units and a space for connection and splitting of optical units to improve workability, thereby effectively using an inner space of the terminal box 1200 and reducing the size of the terminal box 1200.

[74] As illustrated in FIG. 3, the terminal box 1200

according to the present disclosure may include the door 1230

configured to be opened or closed to selectively open the

accommodation space therein.

[75] The housing 1210 may have a rectangular

parallelepiped shape, the optical fiber and power line composite

cable 100 may be introduced through a bottom surface of the housing

1210, and the jumper connection unit 1250 may be provided on the

bottom surface of the housing 1210.

[76] The optical fiber and power line composite cable

100 to be introduced into the housing 1210 may be mounted in the

housing 1210 through a cable holder 1400 mounted in the housing

1210. The optical fiber and power line composite cable 100

introduced into the housing 1210 may be compressed by a load support

unit 1300 (see FIG. 5) to prevent the optical fiber and power line

composite cable 100 from slipping on the cable holder 1400 in a

vertical direction.

[77] The optical fiber and power line composite cable

100 introduced into the housing 1210 may be stripped by a certain

length to be connected or split in the housing 1210.

[78] The terminal box 1200 according to the present

disclosure has a structure in which a region for connection of

power units and a region for connection of an optical unit are

separated from each other to facilitate connection work in the

accommodation space inside the housing 1210. In general, for

connection of a power unit or a communication unit (including an

optical unit) in a terminal box of a base station, a space of the

terminal box 1200 is used by simply dividing it into connection

areas and thus an area and size of the terminal box 1200 should be

increased.

[79] The optical unit is smaller in diameter than the

power unit and requires a minimum radius of curvature and thus

should be differently handled than the power unit for supplying

power.

[80] Therefore, in the terminal box 1200 according to

the present disclosure, the inner space of the housing 1210 is

divided into a rear space to be used as a connection area of power

units and a front space to be used as a connection area of optical

units.

[81] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the power unit

connection part 1500 to which the connection power units 11

connected to the power units 110 of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 1000 introduced into the housing 1210 and the

power terminals of the jumper connection units 1250 are connected

may be provided on an inner side of the accommodation space facing

the door 1230 for closing the accommodation space.

[82] In addition, the optical unit connection part 1600

may be provided in front of the power unit connection part 1500,

to which the first connection optical unit 13a (see FIG. 6)

connected to the optical units 130 of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable introduced into the housing 1210 and the

optical units of the jumper connection units 1250 is connected.

[83] As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, the optical unit

connection part 1600 may be hinge-coupled to an inner lateral side

of the housing 1210 to be rotatable so as to expose the power unit

connection part 1500 in a forward direction. In the embodiments

of FIGS. 3 and 4, the optical unit connection part 1600 is rotated

to expose the power unit connection part 1500 but may be configured

detachably or movable forward and backward.

[84] Therefore, when it is necessary to connect the power

unit 110 to the power unit connection part 1500, the optical unit connection part 1600 may be unfolded to expose the power unit connection part 1500, thereby improving workability.

[85] The power unit 110 to be connected to the power unit

connection part 1500 may be connected to a connecting part 1510

(see FIG. 5) of the power unit connection part 1500 and thereafter

connected to power terminals (not shown) of the jumper connection

units 1250 through the connection power units 11.

[86] A structure of connection for the connection optical

unit and the connection power unit 11 will be described below.

[87] FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a state in power

units and a connection power units 11 are connected to the power

unit connection part 1500 while the power unit connection part 1600

of FIG. 4 is unfolded. FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a state

in which the cover of the optical unit connection part 1600 is

separated and optical units and a connection optical unit are

connected while the door 1230 of the terminal box 1200, for an

optical fiber and power line composite cable, of FIG. 3 is open.

[88] First, a method of connecting power units to the

power unit connection part 1500 after the terminal box 1200 is

installed at a base station will be described with reference to

FIG. 5.

[89] Because the power unit connection part 1500 may be

provided on the inner side of the accommodation space facing the

door 1230 for closing the accommodation space, the connection of

the power units may be performed while the optical unit connection

part 1600 is rotated or unfolded.

[90] Specifically, the optical unit connection part 1600

may include an optical unit housing 1610, and the optical unit

housing 1610 may be hinge-coupled to the terminal box 1200

according to the present disclosure to be rotatable.

[91] A terminal box according to the present disclosure

is configured to connect at least one optical fiber and power line

composite cable 100 to a plurality of jumper cables. Although a

plurality of pairs of power units are included in the optical fiber

and power line composite cable 100, it is assumed herein for

convenience of illustration that a pair of power units and a pair

of connection power units 11 are connected.

[92] The optical fiber and power line composite cable

100 includes a plurality of power units 110, and a pair of (+) and

(-) power units 110 pulled out inside the terminal box 1200 are

connected to the connection power units 11 via a first power unit

connection part 1500a and a second power unit connection part 1500b,

respectively.

[93] Each of the first power unit connection part 1500a

and the second power unit connection part 1500b includes the

connecting part 1510 into which a conductor of a power unit is

inserted. The connecting part 1510 may be configured by a connector

method instead of a conductor insertion and fixing method.

[94] As illustrated in FIG. 5, a worker may connect a

pair of (+) and (-) power units 110 of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 100 to the connecting parts 1510 of the first

power unit connection part 1500a and the second power unit

connection part 1500b while the optical fiber and power line

composite cable 100 is mounted in the housing 1210, in a state in

which connection parts of the power unit connection part 1500 in

the terminal box 1200 according to the present disclosure are

connected in advance to the jumper connection units 1250 and the

connection power units 11. That is, the (+) and (-) connection

power units 11 connected in advance to the first power unit

connection part 1500a and the second power unit connection part

1500b of the terminal box 1200 may be installed at a base station,

and a pair of(+) and (-) power units 110 pulled out by introducing

the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 into the

terminal box 1200 at the base station may be respectively connected

to the connecting parts 1510 of the first power unit connection part 1500a and the second power unit connection part 1500b, thereby completing connection of the power units 110.

[95] In this case, for convenience of operation, the

optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 may be installed

at the base station after an end of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 100 to be introduced into the terminal box

1200 is stripped by a predetermined length in advance.

[96] In addition, the power units 110 of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 and the connection power

units 11 may be connected via the first power unit connection part

1500a and the second power unit connection part 1500b in a

horizontal direction.

[97] An end of each of the connection power units 11

having another end connected to one of the first power unit

connection part 1500a and the second power unit connection part

1500b may be connected to the power terminal of each jumper

connection units 1250, and the connector of the jumper cable 50

may be detachably locked to each jumper connection unit 1250.

[98] A method of connecting the optical unit 130 and the

connection optical unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG.

6 below.

[99] FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which a cover of the

optical unit housing 1610 is removed while the optical unit

connector 1600 is disposed at a normal position to be accommodated

in the housing 1210 of the terminal box 1200 without being unfolded

or rotated.

[100] The optical unit connection part 1600 may include

an optical unit housing 1610 separately from the power unit

connection part 1500 described above, and the optical unit housing

1610 of the optical unit connection part 1600 may include a

removable cover.

[101] In the terminal box 1200, connection optical units

for connection of optical units 130 of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable 100 to the jumper connection unit 1250 include

a first connection optical unit 13a and a second connection optical

unit 13b.

[102] Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 6, an optical

connector to which the first connection optical unit 13a and the

optical unit 130 of the optical fiber and power line composite

cable 100 may be connected may be provided on an outer side of the

optical unit housing 1610, and the second connection optical unit

13b for connection of a connector to which the first connection

optical unit 13a and the optical unit 130 of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 are connected may be provided in the optical unit housing 1610.

[103] Specifically, the optical unit connection part 1600

of the terminal box 1200 according to the present disclosure is

installed in front of the power unit connection part 1500 to be

rotatable, rotatably movable, or unfoldable, and the optical units

130 of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100

introduced into the housing 1210 and the first connection optical

unit 13a connected to the optical terminals of the jumper

connection units 1250 may be connected thereto. Therefore, the

optical units 130 of the optical fiber and power line composite

cable 100 introduced into the housing 1210 of the terminal box 1200

according to the present disclosure may be sequentially connected

to the optical terminals of the jumper connection units 1250 via

the optical unit connection part 1600 and the first connection

optical unit 13a. That is, when the optical fiber and power line

composite cable 100 is mounted in the terminal box 1200 according

to the present disclosure installed at a base station tower and

the optical units 130 of the optical fiber and power line composite

cable are connected to the optical unit connection part 1600, the

optical units 130 may be connected to the optical terminals of the jumper connection unit 1250 of the optical unit connection part

1600 via the first connection optical unit 13a.

[104] The first connection optical unit 13a is configured

to connect the optical terminal of the jumper connection unit 1250

and the optical unit connection part 1600, and the second

connection optical unit 13b is configured to connect in the optical

unit connection part 1600 the optical unit 130 split from the

optical fiber and power line composite cable 100 connected to the

optical unit connection part 1600 and the first connection optical

unit 13a.

[105] That is, the optical unit connection part 1600 may

include the optical unit housing 1610 and be provided in a state

in which connection of the second connection optical unit 13b

therein is completed. Furthermore, connection of the first

connection optical unit 13a may be performed in advance according

to the number of jumper cables 50 or the like that require to be

connected.

[106] Accordingly, optical connection work may be easily

completed by mounting a cable in the terminal box 1200 and

connecting an optical unit of the cable to a connector of the

optical unit housing 1610 of the optical unit connection part

1600, in a state in which the terminal box 1200 in which interconnection via the second connection optical unit 13b of the optical unit connection part 1600 and connection to the jumper connection unit 1250 via the first connection optical unit 13a have been completed is installed at a base station.

[107] In addition, the optical unit 130 of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 may include a plurality

of optical fibers and the optical connector of the optical unit

connection part 1600 may be configured as an MPO optical connector

to cope with an increasing amount of traffic.

[108] Recently, with a sharp increase in mobile traffic,

an optical unit may be configured as including a multi-core optical

fiber according to the amount of traffic and communication channels

that can be covered by one base station, an optical connector

connected to the optical unit may be configured as an MPT optical

connector rather than simply an optical connector connected to one

optical fiber so as to cope with an increase in channel capacity,

and workability may be improved by performing one-to-many optical

connection.

[109] Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 6, when an optical

connector provided at an end of each optical unit 130 of the optical

fiber and power line composite cable 100 connected to the optical

unit connection part 1600 is an MPO optical connector, a plurality of second connection optical units 13b and a plurality of first connection optical unit 13a may be provided to be connected to optical units 130 of the optical fiber and power line composite cable 100.

[110] As illustrated in FIG. 6, the first connection

optical unit 13a and the optical unit 130 of the optical fiber and

power line composite cable 100 may be arranged along inner edges

of the housing 1210 while being supported by a holder 1214 to

secure a minimum radius of curvature for protection of inner

optical fibers.

[111] That is, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the optical

connector of the optical unit housing 1610 may be disposed at both

ends of the optical unit housing 1610 to be inclined upward for

cable redundancy and standardization of a length of the second

connection optical unit 13b, and disposed along inner edges of the

housing 1210 to bypass around the power unit connection part 1500,

because optical fibers may be bent when the optical connector is

disposed to not bypass around the power unit connection part 1500,

thereby preventing damage to the optical fibers.

[112] Due to the above configuration, the optical unit

connection part 1600 and the power unit connection part 1500 for

connection of optical units and power units may be provided at different positions in a thickness direction of the housing 1210 and the optical unit connection part 1600 ahead of the power unit connection part 1500 may be installed to be rotatable, thereby improving workability of connection of the optical units and the power units, a worker may complete optical connection by mounting an MPO connector located at an end of a multi-core optical unit of an optical fiber and power line composite cable on a corresponding connector of the optical unit connection part 1600 during base station connection work, and the optical unit connection part 1600 for connection of optical units may be provided in the terminal box 1200 in the form of the housing 1210 in which internal optical connection has been performed, thereby simplifying the base-station connection work.

[113] According to a terminal box for an optical fiber

and power line composite cable and a terminal box system according

to the present disclosure, an optical fiber and power line

composite cable may be easily installed in the terminal box during

connection of a BBU or a PSU of an RRH system to an RRU via the

terminal box.

[114] According to the terminal box for an optical fiber

and power line composite cable and the terminal box system

according to the present disclosure, an optical unit connection part and a power unit connection part for connection of optical units and power units may be provided at different positions in a thickness direction of a housing and the optical unit connection part ahead of the power unit connection part may be mounted to be rotatable, thereby improving workability of connection of the optical units and the power units and minimizing volume of the terminal box.

[115] According to the terminal box for an optical fiber

and power line composite cable and the terminal box system

according to the present disclosure, an optical unit connection

part may be provided in the form of a housing to facilitate the

arrangement of the optical units.

[116] According to the terminal box for an optical fiber

and power line composite cable and the terminal box system

according to the present disclosure, a worker may complete optical

connection during connection work at a base station by mounting an

MPO connector, which is provided on an end of a multi-core optical

unit of an optical fiber and power line composite cable, on a

corresponding connector of an optical unit connection part, thereby

simplifying repetitive optical connection work requiring precision.

[117] According to the terminal box for an optical fiber

and power line composite cable and the terminal box system according to the present disclosure, an optical unit connection part for connection of optical units is provided, in the terminal box, in the form of a housing in which internal optical connection has been performed, thereby simplifying an assembly process of the terminal box.

[118] In addition, according to the terminal box for an

optical fiber and power line composite cable and the terminal box

system according to the present disclosure, an optical fiber and

power line composite cable and the terminal box may be installed

separately, and connection work at a base station may be completed

by installing the optical fiber and power line composite cable in

the terminal box and connecting each power unit and each optical

unit to a power unit connection part and an optical unit connection

part, thereby reducing a worker's difficulties in connecting the

optical fiber and power line composite cable at the base station.

[119] While the present disclosure has been described

above with respect to exemplary embodiments thereof, it would be

understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and

modifications may be made without departing from the technical

conception and scope of the present disclosure. Thus, it is clear

that all modifications are included in the technical scope of the

present disclosure.

[120] Throughout this specification and the claims which

follow, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise",

and variations such as "comprises" and "comprising", will be

understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or step or

group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any other

integer or step or group of integers or steps.

[121] The reference in this specification to any prior

publication (or information derived from it), or to any matter

which is known, is not, and should not be taken as an acknowledgment

or admission or any form of suggestion that that prior publication

(or information derived from it) or known matter forms part of the

common general knowledge in the field of endeavor to which this

specification relates.

Claims (9)

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line

composite cable, which splits and connects at least one optical

fiber and power line composite cable having a plurality of power

units and a plurality of optical units to a plurality of jumper

cables, the terminal box comprising:

a housing, one side of which is open and which includes an

accommodation space therein and a door for selectively opening and

closing the accommodation space;

a plurality of jumper connection units provided on an outer

side of the housing and each including an optical terminal and a

power terminal for detachably mounting a jumper connector of the

jumper cable;

a power unit connection part to which a plurality of power

units of the optical fiber and power line composite cable

introduced into the housing and a plurality of connection power

units connected to the power terminal of the jumper connection unit

are connected; and

an optical unit connection part which is mounted in front of

the power unit connection part and to which the optical unit of

the optical fiber and power line composite cable introduced into the housing and a first connection optical unit connected to the optical terminal of the jumper connection unit are connected, wherein the optical unit connection part comprises an optical unit housing, and a second connection optical unit is provided in the optical unit housing, the second connection optical unit being configured to connect the first connection optical unit and the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable, and, wherein the first connection optical unit and the optical unit of the optical fiber and power line composite cable are connected on an outer side of the optical unit housing via an optical connector disposed to be inclined upward at both side surfaces of the optical unit housing.

2. The terminal box of claim 1, wherein the power unit

connection part is provided on an inner side of the accommodation

space facing a door for closing the accommodation space.

3. The terminal box of claim 1, wherein the optical unit

connection part is hinge-coupled to an inner lateral side of the

housing to be rotatable so as to expose the power unit connection

part in a forward direction.

4. The terminal box of claim 1, wherein the second

connection optical unit and the first connection optical unit are

connected on an outer side of the optical unit housing via an

optical connector.

5. The terminal box of claim 1, wherein the optical

connector comprises a multiple-fiber push-on (MPO) optical

connector.

6. The terminal box of claim 1, wherein the first connection

optical unit and the optical unit of the optical fiber and power

line composite cable are arranged along inner edges of the housing

after being connected via the optical connector, while bypassing

around the power unit connection part.

7. The terminal box of claim 1, wherein the housing has a

rectangular parallelepiped shape,

the optical fiber and power line composite cable is introduced

into the housing through a bottom surface of the housing, and

the jumper connection unit to which the jumper cable is

connected is provided on the bottom surface of the housing.

8. The terminal box of claim 7, wherein the power unit of

the optical fiber and power line composite cable and the connection

power unit are connected to the power unit connection part in a

horizontal direction.

9. An optical fiber and power line composite terminal box

system comprising:

the terminal box, for an optical fiber and power line

composite cable, of any one of claims 1 to 8, the terminal box

being installed at a base station tower;

at least one optical fiber and power line composite cable

including a plurality of optical units and a plurality of power

units and introduced via a bottom surface of the terminal box, the

plurality of optical units being provided in a central region of

the at least one optical fiber and power line composite cable and

connected between a baseband unit (BBU) outside the base station

tower and the terminal box, and the plurality of power units being

arranged around the plurality of optical units and connected

between a power supply unit (PSU) outside the base station tower

and the terminal box; and a plurality of jumper cables connected between the terminal box and a remote radio-frequency (RF) unit (RRU) installed at the base station tower, including at least one optical unit an at least one power unit, and connected to a jumper connection unit on an outer side of a housing of the terminal box.

Fig. 1 DRAWINGS 1/6

Fig. 2 2/6

Fig. 3 3/6

Fig. 4 4/6

Fig. 5 5/6

Fig. 6 6/6