WO2025123011A1 - Communications panel system - Google Patents

Abstract

A communications panel includes a tray carrying one or more cassettes guides. Any of a variety of sized cassettes can fit on the tray by spanning the cassette guides. Cassettes of different sizes have different corresponding gaps between cassette guides. Certain types of cassettes having bottom channels that have entrances spaced rearwardly from a front of the cassettes. Cable guides can be movably mounted to the tray to accommodate cable routing and/or movement of the cassettes. Each cable guide has limited travel along a respective cable guide positioning region.

Description

COMMUNICATIONS PANEL SYSTEM

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application is being filed as a PCT International Application and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/607,271, filed December 7, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

[0002] In the telecommunications industry, the demand for added capacity is growing rapidly. This demand is being met in part by the increasing use and density of fiber optic transmission equipment. Even though fiber optic equipment permits higher levels of transmission in the same or smaller footprint than traditional copper transmission equipment, the demand requires even higher levels of fiber density. This has led to the development of high-density fiber handling equipment.

[0003] In communications panel systems, port members (e.g., optical adapters, electrical jacks, hybrid port members, etc.) defining front ports are mounted to one or more trays that are disposable within a chassis. The front ports are configured to receive plug connectors at the fronts of the trays. The trays can either be stationary within a chassis or can slide forwardly of the chassis to enhance access to the port members.

[0004] Improvements are desired.

SUMMARY

[0005] In accordance with some aspects of the disclosure, a tray arrangement includes a tray and a plurality of cable guides disposed at the front end of the tray. The front end of the tray defines notches facing forward of the tray. Each notch has a width extending along the width of the tray. Each of the cable guides is disposed at a respective one of the notches. Each of the cable guides is movable along a travel axis within the respective notch. The travel axis is parallel to the width of the tray. Each cable guide has a width that is smaller than the width of the respective notch to enable limited travel along the travel axis. [0006] In accordance with other aspects of the disclosure, a communications cassette includes a body defining a plurality of bottom channels each having a front end and a rear end. The front ends of the bottom channels are recessed rearwardly from a front of the body. In certain examples, port members are mounted to the body at the front. In certain examples, the port members are disposed forward of the front ends of the bottom channels.

[0007] In accordance with other aspects of the disclosure, a communications panel includes a tray carrying a plurality of cassette guides spaced from each other along the tray width at a constant pitch; a first cassette configured to mount to the tray, and a second cassette configured to mount to the tray. The first cassette is configured to engage a first of the cassette guides and to span at least a second of the cassette guides towards a third of the cassette guides. The first cassette is spaced from the third cassette guide by a first gap. The second cassette is larger than the first cassette. The second cassette is configured to engage a fourth of the cassette guides and to span at least a fifth of the cassette guides towards a sixth of the cassette guides. The second cassette is spaced from the sixth cassette guide by a second gap that is larger than the first gap.

[0008] A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad inventive concepts upon which the embodiments disclosed herein are based.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the description, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:

[0010] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an example communications panel configured in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

[0011] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an example communications arrangement suitable for use with the communications panel of FIG. 1, the communications arrangement including a tray arrangement populated with a plurality of cassettes configured in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure and carrying a plurality of cable guides configured in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure; [0012] FIG. 3 is a top, front perspective view of an example cassette suitable for use with the communications arrangement of FIG. 2;

[0013] FIG. 4 is a bottom, front perspective view of the cassette of FIG. 3;

[0014] FIG. 5 is a front elevational view of the cassette of FIG. 3;

[0015] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the tray arrangement of FIG. 2;

[0016] FIG. 6A is a front elevational view of an example cassette guide disposed on the tray arrangement of FIG. 6;

[0017] FIG. 7 is a top plan view of the tray arrangement of FIG. 6 populated with cassettes of two different sizes, the cassettes being shown transparent for ease in viewing the cassette guides in the bottom channels;

[0018] FIG. 8 shows a rear end of an example cassette suitable for use with the communications arrangement of FIGS. 2 or 26;

[0019] FIG. 9 shows the cassette of FIG. 8 secured to the tray arrangement;

[0020] FIG. 10 is a top plan view of an example tray arrangement to which a cassette of a first size and a cassette of a second size have been mounted;

[0021] FIG. 11 shows a cassette of a third size mounted to the tray arrangement of FIG. 10;

[0022] FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 10;

[0023] FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 11;

[0024] FIG. 14 is a top plan view of the tray arrangement of FIG. 6 with the cable guides removed;

[0025] FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an example cable guide suitable for use with the tray arrangements disclosed herein;

[0026] FIG. 16 shows an example cable guide mounted to the tray arrangement of FIG. 14 and disposed to align between two cassettes;

[0027] FIG. 17 shows the cable guide of FIG. 16 shifted to the right to accommodate movement of a first of the cassettes;

[0028] FIG. 18 shows the cable guide of FIG. 16 shifted to the left to accommodate movement of a second of the cassettes;

[0029] FIG. 19 shows the cable guide of FIG. 16 shifted to the right to accommodate movement of another cassette having a larger size compared to the cassette of FIGS. 16- 18;

[0030] FIG. 20 shows multiple cable guides adjusted to accommodate movement of another cassette of the larger size; [0031] FIG. 21 is a top, plan view of an example communications arrangement holding cassettes of three different sizes, the communications arrangement being configured in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

[0032] FIG. 22 is a top, plan view of another example tray arrangement having smaller cable guide positioning regions compared to the tray arrangement of FIG. 14;

[0033] FIG. 23 is a top, front perspective view of another example communications panel configured in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

[0034] FIG. 24 is a bottom, front perspective view of the communications panel of FIG. 23;

[0035] FIG. 25 is a top perspective view of an example tray suitable for use with the communications panels of either FIG. 1 or FIG. 23;

[0036] FIG. 26 shows an example cassette mounted to the tray of FIG. 25;

[0037] FIG. 27 is a bottom perspective view of the tray and cassette of FIG. 26 with the plug connectors and one of the optical adapters removed for ease in viewing;

[0038] FIG. 28 shows an example side cable guide suitable for use with the trays of either FIG. 2 or FIG 25;

[0039] FIG. 29 shows an example clip mounted to the side cable guide of FIG. 28;

[0040] FIG. 30 is a front perspective view of the example clip of FIG. 29;

[0041] FIG. 31 is a rear perspective view of the clip of FIG. 30;

[0042] FIG. 32 is a top plan view of the side cable guide and clip of FIG. 29;

[0043] FIG. 33 is a side elevational view of the side cable guide and clip of FIG. 32; and

[0044] FIG. 34 is a rear view of another example cassette suitable for use with the communications arrangement of FIG. 2 or FIG. 26.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary aspects of the present disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

[0046] The present disclosure is directed to a communications panel 100, 300 configured to mount to a rack. The communications panel 100, 300 includes a chassis 105, 305 holding one or more tray arrangements 110, 310. Each tray arrangement 110, 310 spans a width W of the chassis 105, 305. In some implementations, the tray arrangements 110, 310 are stationary within the chassis 105, 305. In other implementations, the tray arrangements 110, 310 are slidable along a depth D of the chassis 105, 305 between two or more positions. Each tray arrangement 110, 310 is configured to support one or more cassettes 200 carrying ports (e.g., optical ports, electrical ports, hybrid ports, etc.) configured to receive plug connectors. A tray arrangement 110, 310 populated with one or more cassettes 200 is referred to herein as a communications arrangement 108, 308. In certain implementations, the chassis 105, 305 defines one or more windows 306 through a top and/or bottom of the chassis 305 to expose portions of the tray arrangements 110, 310. In the example shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, the chassis 305 defines top and bottom windows 306 exposing at least a cable management portion of the tray arrangements 310.

[0047] A cassette 200 carries one or more port members 210 each defining one or more exteriorly accessible ports (e.g., at a front of the cassette 200). The exterior ports are configured to receive plug connectors. The exterior ports include one or more input ports 202 and one or more output ports 204. It will be understood that the terms input and output are used for convenience and that the data signals carried through the ports can pass in either direction. In some implementations, the exterior ports are optical ports configured to receive optical plug connectors. In other implementations, the exterior ports may be electrical ports configured to receive electrical plug connectors, hybrid ports configured to receive hybrid plug connectors, or a mixture of optical, electrical, and/or hybrid. In some implementations, a cassette 200 carries single-fiber exterior ports (e.g., LC front ports). In other implementations, a cassette 200 carries multi-fiber exterior ports (e.g., MPO front ports, SN front ports offered by Senko, etc.). In still other implementations, the same cassette 200 may carry a mix of two or more types of exterior ports (e.g., a mixture of MPO and LC ports).

[0048] In certain implementations, one or more of the cassettes 200 carries a signal splitter 206, such as an optical power splitter, a wave division multiplexer, etc. (e.g., see FIG. 3). In such implementations, the cassette 200 carries at least one input port 202 and a plurality of output ports 204 coupled together at the signal splitter 206 (e.g., see FIG. 2). In some examples, the input port 202 and the output ports 204 are both disposed at the front of the cassette 200. In other examples, the input port 202 may be disposed at a rear of the cassettes 200. In certain implementations, the input port 202 defines a different type of connection interface compared to the output ports 204. For example, the input port 202 can be an LC port while the output ports 204 can be SN ports.

[0049] In certain implementations, the cassettes 200 are configured to mount to a tray 112, 312 of the tray arrangement 110, 310. For example, each cassette 200 defines a plurality of bottom channels 212 extending from a rear end 214 of the channel 212 to a front end 216 of the channel 212 (e.g., see FIG. 4). In certain examples, the rear end 214 of the channel 212 is disposed at a rear of the cassette 200. In certain examples, the front end 216 of the channel 212 is offset inwardly from a front of the cassette 200. For example, the cassette 200 may define a port member holding region 218 at which the port members 210 are mounted. The front ends 216 of the channels 212 may be disposed rearward of the port member holding region 218. Accordingly, in certain examples, the front of the cassette 200 defines a solid surface 211 between the port members 210.

[0050] In certain implementations, the cassette 200 includes one or more engagement rails 205 or other features configured to mate with cassette guides 120 of the tray 112. In certain examples, the number of engagement rails 205 varies based on the size of the cassette 200. For example, in FIG. 4, three engagement rails 205 are shown on the cassette 200. In certain examples, one 205’ of the engagement rails 205 is disposed at one side of the cassette 200. In certain examples, at least some of the engagement rails 205 extend into respective ones of the channels 212. In certain examples, the engagement rails 205 extend into the respective channels 212 from a common side. In certain examples, only some of the channels 212 include engagement rails 205. In certain examples, the channel 212 farthest from the side engagement rail 205’ includes an engagement rail 205.

[0051] In certain implementations, each cassette 200 carries a latching arrangement that secures the cassette 200 to the tray 112. In certain examples, the latching arrangement includes a stop member 208 (e.g., see FIG. 4) that is movable between a locking position and a releasing position using an actuator 209. In certain examples, the actuator 209 includes a handle that extends forwardly of the cassette 200. In certain examples, the actuator 209 does not extend rearwardly of the cassette 200. In certain examples, the actuator 209 is at least partially enclosed by a cover of the cassette 200. Additional details about how the actuator 209 operates the stop member 208 or the interaction between the cassette 200 and the engagement rails 205 can be found in U.S. Patent No. 11 ,740,421 , the disclosure of where is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0052] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the tray arrangement 110, 310 includes a tray 112, 312 extending along a tray depth between a front end F and a rear end R. The tray 112, 312 also extends along a tray width between a first side 114, 314 and an opposite second side 116, 316. The tray 112, 312 has a cassette securement region 118, 318. One or more cassette guides 120, 320 are disposed at the cassette securement region 118, 318 of the tray 112, 312. The cassette guides 120, 320 are spaced laterally along the tray width from each other. Each cassette guide 120, 320 extends along part of the tray depth. The cassette securement region 118, 318 is recessed inwardly from both the front end F of the tray 112, 312 and from the rear end R of the tray 112, 312.

[0053] The cassette 200 are configured to mount to the tray 110, 310 through interaction with the cassette guides 120, 320. For example, a cassette 200 is disposed at the front end F of the tray 112, 312 so that the rear ends 214 of the cassette channels 212 are aligned with respective ones of the cassette guides 120, 320. The cassette 200 is then slid rearwardly relative to the tray 212 so that each cassette guide 120, 320 passes along one of the cassette channels 212. In certain examples, the cassette 200 is movedrearward until the cassette guides 120, 320 reach the front ends 216 of the channels 212. In certain examples, the cassette 200 is moved rearward until the cassette guides 120, 320 abut the port member holding region 218 of the cassette 200.

[0054] In certain implementations, the engagement rails 205 of the cassette 200 align with respective cassette guides 120 to inhibit lifting of the cassettes 200 from the tray 112, 312. The cassette guides 120, 320 move (e.g., are slid) relative to the cassette channels 212 as the cassette 200 is mounted to the tray 112. In certain implementations, a respective catch surface extends outwardly from each cassette guide 120, 320 at an intermediate location along the cassette guide 120, 320. When the cassette 200 reaches a predetermined position relative to the tray, the stop member 208 of the cassette 200 engages the catch surface to hold the cassette 200 at the predetermined position. The engagement between the stop member 208 and the catch surface is described in U.S. Patent No. 11,740,421 (incorporated by reference above) and in U.S. Provisional Appl. No. 63/496183, filed April 14, 2023, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

[0055] In certain implementations, securement of the cassettes 200 to the tray 112, 312 can be supplemented or implemented at the rear end R of the tray 112, 312. In certain implementations, the rear end R of the tray 112, 312 defines an inwardly extending flange 115, 315 (e.g., see FIG. 8). In the example shown, the flange 115, 315 includes a rolled or folded over portion of the tray 112, 312 at the rear end R. In certain implementations, each cassette 200 includes a rear securement arrangement 220 that engages the flange 115, 315. In certain implementations, the flange 115, 315 is pinched by or otherwise disposed within the rear securement arrangement 220. In certain examples, the rear securement arrangement 220 include one or more protrusions 224 extending rearwardly from the cassette 200 to fit under the flange 115, 315 and one or more latches 222 that snaps over the flange 115, 315. In certain examples, the latch 222 is deflectable towards the cassette 200 to release the flange 115, 315. In some examples, the latch 222 is aligned with the protrusion 224 (e.g., see FIG. 8). In other examples, the latch 222 is disposed at an intermediate point between multiple protrusions 224 (e.g., see FIG. 34).

[0056] In certain implementations, a cassette 200 may engage one cassette guide 120, 320, span over one or more cassette guides 120, 320 (see FIG. 7), and extends toward a nearest neighboring cassette guide 120, 320 without engaging the neighboring cassette guide 120, 320 (e.g., see FIGS. 2, 7, and 10). For example, in FIG. 7, the left cassette 200 extends toward, but does not engage the nearest neighboring cassette guide 120’. Rather, in certain examples, the neighboring cassette guide 120’ is configured to engage the next cassette 200 to be mounted to the tray 110 (e.g., see FIG. 21).

[0057] In certain implementations, a cassette 200 may remain spaced from the nearest neighboring cassette guide 120, 320 by a gap that is at least the width Cl (FIG. 6A) of the cassette guide 120, 320. In certain examples, the gap is at least the width C2 (FIG. 6A) resulting from the catch surface. In certain examples, the gap is at least twice the width C2. In certain implementations, the gap is at least 0.5 mm. In certain examples, the gap is at least 0.8 mm. In certain examples, the gap is at least 0.9 mm. In certain examples, the gap is at least 1 mm. In certain examples, the gap is at least 2 mm. In certain examples, the gap is at least 3 mm. [0058] In certain implementations, the tray arrangement 110, 310 is configured to receive cassettes 200 of a variety of sizes. For example, FIG. 2 shows cassettes 200A (see also FIG. 10) of a first size mounted to the tray arrangement 110. FIG. 7 shows a cassette 200B of a second size (see also FIG. 10) and a cassette 200C of a third size (see also FIG. 11) mounted to the tray arrangement 110. In certain examples, the second size is larger than the first size and the third size is larger than the second size. In an example, the first size has a width of about 64.5 mm; the second size has a width of about 95 mm; and the third size has a width of about 185 mm.

[0059] In certain examples, the cassettes 200A, 200B, 200C can be sized to have a different gap between the cassette 200 and a nearest neighboring cassette guide 120, 320. For example, the cassette 200A of the first size may have a smaller gap than the cassette 200B of the second size. In certain examples, the cassette 200B of the second size may have a smaller gap G2 than the gap G3 of the cassette 200C of the third size (e.g., compare FIGS. 12 and 13). In an example, the cassette 200A of the first size has a gap of 0.9 mm, the cassette 200B of the second size has a gap G2 of 3.1 mm, and the cassette 200C of the third size has a gap G3 of 11.2 mm with a pitch P between cassette guides 120 of 32.7 mm.

[0060] In certain implementations, one or more cable guides 130 can be mounted to the front end F of the tray 110, 310 to guide cables received at the port members 210 (e.g., see FIG. 2). In certain examples, the cable guides 130 extend forwardly of the front end F of the tray 110, 310 to define a cable routing region in front of the tray arrangement 110, 310. In certain examples, the cable guides 130 are removably mounted to the tray 110, 310. In certain implementations, the tray 110, 310 defines one or more guide positioning regions 122, 322 along the front end F (e.g., see FIG. 14). Each guide positioning region 122, 322 has a width A extending parallel with the width of the tray arrangement 110, 310. A cable guide 130 can be mounted at a respective one of the guide positioning regions 122, 322.

[0061] In certain implementations, the tray 112, 312 defines one or more finger access openings 124, 324 toward the front end F of the tray 112, 312 (e.g., see FIG. 6). The finger access openings 124, 324 are disposed between the front end F of the tray 112, 312 and the cassette securement region 118, 318. In certain examples, the finger access openings 124, 324 are disposed to align with exterior ports of cassettes 200 mounted to the tray arrangement 110, 310 or with connectors received at the exterior ports (e.g., see FIG. 2). In certain examples, the finger access openings 324 are sufficiently deep to expose a port label LB of the cassette 200 from the bottom of the tray 312 (e.g., see FIG. 27). The finger access openings 124, 324 extend through a thickness of the tray 112 to form a mounting bar 126 at the front end F of the tray arrangement 110 (e.g., see FIG. 14). In certain implementations, the guide positioning regions 122 are disposed at the mounting bar 126.

[0062] FIG. 15 shows an example implementation of a cable guide 130 suitable for use with the tray arrangement 110. In certain examples, each cable guide 130 includes a routing portion 132 defining a routing channel 134. A latch member 136 extends from the routing portion 132 to releasably secure the cable guide 130 to the bar 126. For example, the routing portion 132 may define a first groove 140 and the latch member 136 may define a second groove 142 that faces the first channel 140. The bar 126 is captured between the first and second grooves 140, 142 to hold the cable guide 130 to the tray arrangement 110. The cable guide 130 can be removed from the tray arrangement 110 by deflecting the latch member 136 to move the second channel 142 away from the bar 126 sufficient to detach the cable guide 130.

[0063] In certain implementations, the cable guides 130 can be disposed along the width A of the guide positioning regions 122 to align substantially between cassettes 200 or port members 210 of the cassette(s) 200. For example, a cable guide 130 in FIG. 16 aligns with an actuator 209 of a cassette 200A of the first type. Accordingly, cables extending from the port members 210 can be easily routed into the cable guides 130 without interference.

[0064] In certain implementations, the width A of the guide positioning regions 122 enables a cable guide 130 to be moved along the mounting bar 126 to provide access for mounting cassettes 200 to the tray arrangement 110 without removing the cable guides 130. Accordingly, cables of cassettes 200 already mounted remain managed while new cassettes 200 are added and/or removed. For example, FIG. 17 shows a cable guide 130 moved to the right along the width A of the guide positioning region 122 to align with the right cassette 200, thereby enabling movement M of the left cassette 200. FIG. 18 shows the cable guide 130 of FIG. 17 moved to the left along the width A of the guide positioning region 122 to align with the left cassette 200, thereby enabling movement M of the right cassette 200.

[0065] Further, certain types of tray arrangements 110 can receive a cassette 200 having any of a variety of widths by simply moving the cable guides 130 to accommodate the sizes of the cassettes 200. For example, FIG. 19 shows a cable guide 130 pushed even further to the right along the width A of the guide positioning region 122 to accommodate movement M of a cassette 200B of the second size relative to the tray 110. FIG. 20 shows two cassettes 200B of the second size mounted to the tray 110. Two cable guides 130 are disposed within respective guide positioning regions 122 to accommodate movement M of the second cassettes 200B.

[0066] In certain implementations, the width A of guide positioning region 122 is substantially larger than a width 132 (FIG. 20) of a cable guide 130. In certain examples, the width A of the guide positioning region 122 is more than double the width 132 of the cable guide 130. In certain examples, the width A of the guide positioning region 122 is more than triple the width 132 of the cable guide 130. In certain examples, the width A of the guide positioning region 122 is more than quadruple the width 132 of the cable guide 130. In certain examples, the width A of the guide positioning region 122 is more than five times the width 132 of the cable guide 130. In certain examples, the width A of the guide positioning region 122 is more than six times the width 132 of the cable guide 130 (e.g., see FIG. 20). In other examples, the width A of the guide positioning region 122 is more than 1.5 times the width 132 of the cable guide 130 (e.g., see FIG. 22).

[0067] In certain implementations, the tray arrangement 110, 310 include side cable guides 150 located at the outer-most sides of the tray 112, 312 (e.g., see FIG. 26). In certain examples, the side cable guides 150 are fastened to the tray 112, 312. Other configurations are possible. The cable guides 130 are disposed in a row between the side cable guides 150 (e.g., see FIG. 26). The side cable guides 150 includes a routing portion 132 defining a routing channel 134 like the cable guides 130 (e.g., see FIG. 28). In certain examples, the routing portion 132 of the side cable guide 150 includes two opposing fingers 154 separated by a gap 155. In certain implementations, the side cable guides 150 include a contoured transition 152 to inhibit excess bending of the cables routed away from the tray 112, 312. In certain examples, side extensions 156 assist in defining the contoured transition 152. In certain examples, the side cable guide 150 also defines an aperture 158 separate from the routing channel 134.

[0068] Referring to FIGS. 29-33, in certain implementations, a clip 160 may be mounted to each of the side cable guides 150 to assist in retaining the cables routed through the routing channel 134. In certain examples, the clip 160 removably mounts to the side cable guide 150. In certain examples, the clip 160 is configured to snap-fit to the side cable guide 150. In certain examples, the clip 160 is rotated into engagement with the side cable guide 150. In certain examples, the clip 160 is configured to fit within the routing channel 134 of the side cable guide 150.

[0069] In certain examples, the clip 160 reduces the size of the routing channel 134 (e.g., see FIG. 33). In certain examples, the clip 160 is contoured to change a height of the routing channel 134 along the depth D of the tray 312. For example, the clip 160 may provide a first height Hl of the routing channel 134 at a forward portion of the routing channel 134 while providing a second, shorter height H2 of the routing channel 134 towards a rear of the routing channel 134. In some examples, the shorter height H2 may urge the cables within the routing channel 134 forward. In other examples, the shorter height H2 may inhibit catching cables within the routing channel 134 on the chassis 305 when sliding the tray arrangement 310 back into the chassis 305.

[0070] In certain implementations, the clip 160 includes a retaining surface 162 that extends over a top of the routing channel 134 of the side cable guide 150. The retaining surface 162 extends laterally outwardly from the opposing fingers 54 of the routing portion 132 of the side cable guide 150. In certain examples, the retaining surface 162 defines a ramped or tapered section 170 that defines the shorter height H2 of the routing channel 134.

[0071] In certain examples, the clip 160 includes a retainer 164 that fits within the gap 155 between the opposing fingers 154. In an example, the retainer 164 has a U- shape that wraps around a tip of one of the opposing fingers 154. In certain examples, the clip 160 also includes a rear tab 166 that fits into the aperture 158 defined by the side cable guide 150 (e.g., see FIG. 33). In certain examples, the clip 160 also includes a forward tab 168 that seats on a side extension 156 of the side cable guide 150 (e.g., see FIG. 29).

[0072] Having described the preferred aspects and implementations of the present disclosure, modifications and equivalents of the disclosed concepts may readily occur to one skilled in the art. However, it is intended that such modifications and equivalents be included within the scope of the claims which are appended hereto.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A tray arrangement for a communications panel, the tray arrangement comprising: a tray extending along a width between opposite first and second sides and extending along a depth between a front end and a rear end, the front end of the tray defining a plurality of notches facing forward of the tray, each notch having a width extending along the width of the tray; a plurality of cable guides disposed at the front end of the tray, each of the cable guides being disposed at a respective one of the notches, each of the cable guides being movable along a travel axis within the respective notch, the travel axis being parallel to the width of the tray, each cable guide having a width that is smaller than the width of the respective notch to enable limited travel along the travel axis.

2. The tray arrangement of claim 1 , wherein the tray defines a plurality of finger access openings, the finger access openings being spaced inwardly from the front end of the tray to form a front bar at the front end of the tray, each cable guide mounted to the front bar.

3. The tray arrangement of claim 2, wherein a first of the cable guides defines a mounting channel that receives the front bar, the mounting channel being sized to fit around the front bar at one of the notches, the mounting channel being too small to fit around the front bar outside of the notches.

4. The tray arrangement of claim 3, wherein the first cable guide includes a first wrap-around section and a second wrap-around section that cooperate to define the mounting channel, each of the first and second wrap-around sections extending over a top portion of the front bar and a bottom portion of the front bar.

5. The tray arrangement of any of claims 1-4, wherein the tray has a cassette securement region, and wherein the front access openings are disposed between the cassette securement region and the front end of the tray; and wherein a plurality of cassette guides are disposed at the cassette securement region of the tray.

6. The tray arrangement of any of claims 1 -5, wherein the width of the notch is larger than the width of the cable guide by at least half the width of the cable guide.

7. The tray arrangement of claim 6, wherein the width of the notch is larger than the width of the cable guide by at least the width of the cable guide.

8. The tray arrangement of claim 7, wherein the width of the notch is larger than the width of the cable guide by at least five times the width of the cable guide.

9. The tray arrangement of claim 7, wherein the width of the notch is larger than the width of the cable guide by at least six times the width of the cable guide.

10. The tray arrangement of any of claims 1 -9, further comprising: a side cable guide mounted to the tray at the first side, the side cable guide defining a routing channel leading to a contoured transition; and a clip mounted to the side cable guide, the clip reducing a height of the routing channel of the side cable guide.

11. A communications cassette comprising: a body extending along a depth between a front and a rear and extending along a width between opposite first and second sides, the body defining a plurality of bottom channels each having a front end and a rear end, the front ends of the bottom channels being recessed rearwardly from the front of the body; and a plurality of port members mounted to the body at the front.

12. The communications cassete of claim 11, wherein the port members are disposed forward of the front ends of the botom channels

13. The communications cassete of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the body includes an engagement rail extending outwardly from the first side, but not from the second side.

14. The communications cassete of claim 13, wherein the engagement rail is a first engagement rail; and wherein a second engagement rail extends into a respective one of the bottom channels.

15. The communications cassete of any of claims 11-14, wherein the port members are disposed only at the front of the body.

16. The communications cassete of any of claims 11-15, further comprising: a stop member carried by the body; and an actuator moveable relative to the body to operate the stop member.

17. The communications cassete of any of claims 11-16, wherein a signal spliter is disposed within the body to optically connect at least some of the port members.

18. The communications cassete of claim 17, wherein the signal spliter is a wave division multiplexer.

19. The communications cassete of any of claims 11-18, wherein the cassete includes a securement arrangement at the rear, the securement arrangement including a latch.

20. The communications cassete of claim 19, wherein the securement arrangement includes a protrusion aligned with the latch.