FR2525351A1 - CONNECTOR FOR OPTICAL FIBER COMPRISING MANEUVERABLE FIBER RETENTION MEANS - Google Patents

Abstract

AN APPARATUS JOINTLY ACCOMPLISHING THE FUNCTIONS CONSISTING OF CUTTING AN OPTICAL FIBER AND MOUNTING A CONNECTOR ON THIS FIBER INCLUDES IN PARTICULAR A MAIN BOX 12 AND A REPORTED BOX 42. THE MAIN BOX CONTAINS BOTH AN EXTREMODITE DEVICE. , AND A CUTTING DEVICE 14. THE FITTING BOX INCLUDES A FIBER RECEPTION CHANNEL 44. WHEN THE FITTING BOX IS INSERTED IN THE MAIN BOX, THE FIBER IS RETAINED IN THE RELATED BOX AND IS CUT TO DEFINE AN END FACE CONNECTION THAT IS PLACED IN COINCIDENCE WITH THE END DEVICE.

Description

CONNECTOR FOR FIBER OPTIC COMPRISING

  MANEUVERABLE FIBER RETENTION MEANS

  The present invention relates generally to optical fiber cutting devices and connector mounting on a fiber and it relates more particularly to devices for optical fibers which link the phases of cutting a fiber and mounting a connector.

on the fiber.

  In optic fiber connection techniques

  ques known prior to the invention described in patent application FR 82 10894 filed by the applicant on 06/22/82, the mounting on the ground of a connector for optical fiber was carried out by performing separately, and

  at the cost of a large amount of work, the pre-

  fiber trim for mounting the connector, a

  hand, and mounting the connector on the fiber, on the other hand.

  Operations such as stripping the fiber casing, and cutting and polishing the end face

  were usually accomplished in the first phase.

  In the second phase, the prepared fiber was placed from

  Characteristically in a housing and fixed in it

  this, and this case was manipulated in relation to another bowl

  tier containing an end device, to exit

  that the end face of the fiber and the device

  end points are placed in precise coincidence.

  the aforementioned patent application describes a connector or a component for optical fiber in which a cutting device and an end device are supported according to

  a fixed mutual relationship, for example in a housing

  mun An associated box ensures the retention of the fiber

  enclosures can be brought together in a first mu-

  before cutting, in which the fiber passes from one housing to another, they can be moved mutually to be brought into a second relationship producing the cutting of the fiber, and they can furthermore be brought mutually into a third mutual relationship causing the end device and the connection end lace which results from the cutting to coincide The device constituted by the common housing and the associated housing remains in place by constituting a connector By providing a process which ensures the sequence between the preparation of the fiber for

  mounting the connector and mounting the connector itself

  even, as well as an apparatus intended both to cut a fiber and to mount a connector on this fiber, the invention

  of the aforementioned request of the plaintiff provides a dimi-

  obvious change in the work required for assembly

  on the ground of a fiber optic connector.

  The object of the invention is to provide another method

  thimble and another connector cutting / mounting apparatus for an optical fiber, having the chaining character of

phases of the above application.

  Another object of the invention is to provide

  advanced components of fiber optic connectors.

  To achieve the above aims, as well as others, the invention provides an apparatus which is generally of the type envisaged in the aforementioned application and which involves a translational movement of housings to perform the cutting and mounting of a connector, but in which the fixing intended for the retention of a fiber is

  performed during the mutual displacement of the housings.

  In its particularly pre-

  féré, the invention uses a housing as the main housing and gives the associated housing the configuration of an attached housing, that is to say that the main housing has an insertion channel intended to receive the attached boot maker The main boot maker has a cutting blade

  disposed adjacent to its insertion channel.

  The attached shoemaker has a cable receiving channel

  bre and deviable means which come into conflict

  tact with a surface of the insertion channel during insertion, to fix the fiber when it is cut by the cutting blade and o the connection end face of the fiber is then brought into coincidence with a device end or a reference surface

  connection in the main case.

  Other aspects of the invention provide a re-

  Pre-locking link between the main shoemaker and

  the attached housing, to easily arrange in these bot-

  third a fiber not retained, in preparation for cutting and mounting in connector, and a complete locking relationship between the bootmakers after fixing, cutting and

  mounting the fiber connector.

  One aspect of the invention relates to a connector for optical fiber characterized in that it comprises means which can be actuated to bring them into contact with a fiber so as to retain the latter, separation means intended to define a face of connection end for the fiber, and a boot structure intended to actuate the fiber retaining means and to support the means of

  fiber retention and separation means for their

  re accomplish a relative movement, the structure of bootmakers defining a connection reference surface adjacent to the connection end face of the fiber, thanks to

  which the boot structure can place the end face

  connection unit coinciding with an ex-

extremity.

  Another aspect of the invention relates to a method

  dice for cutting an optical fiber and for bringing the cut fiber in coincidence with an end device in the connector envisaged above characterized in that: (a) the fiber is moved on a predetermined path so as to retain the fiber in a way preselected at

  a location away from one end of the fiber and up to

  per fiber to define a connection end face for this fiber at said location; and (b) while continuing to retain the fiber in the preselected manner, it is

  subjects the fiber to an additional displacement on the tra-

  predetermined jectory to arrange the end face of

  connection and the end device in coincidence mu-

tuelle.

  The invention will be better understood on reading

  the following description of embodiments, given

  by way of nonlimiting examples The rest of the description

  refers to the accompanying drawings in which the elements ana-

  logues are always designated by the same reference numbers

and on which: -

  Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus

  reil according to the invention, with its main boot maker and

  his bootmaker brought back to the unassembled state.

  Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus

  reil of Figure 1 with its housings in the pre-locked state.

  Figure 2 (a) reproduces Figure 2, but with a fiber placed in the insert, without being retained

In this one.

  Figure 3 is a perspective view of the apparatus

  reil of Figure 1 with its main boot and its attached boot assembled in the state in which they constitute a connector for fiber, with an optical fiber fixed inside. Figure 4 is a front elevational view of the

main housing of figure 1.

  Figure 5 is an elevational view from the side

  left of the bootmaker reported in Figure 1.

  Figure 6 is a section of the assembled housings

  and of the fiber of FIG. 3, according to the plane VI-VI of the figure

gure 3.

  Considering FIG. 1, it can be seen that an apparatus for optical fiber, 10, comprises a main housing 12, which supports a blade 14 having a cutting edge 14 to the blade 14 can be introduced into the housing 12 by windows 16 and 18, then appropriately stuck or fixed inside in any other way In front of the blade 14, the housing 12 defines an insertion channel 20 which opens in the side wall 22 of the housing 12 and who is

  limited by a ceiling 24, a floor 26, an interior wall

  re 28 and a rear wall 30 The ceiling 24 defines snap grooves 32 and 34, having a curved section, and the floor 26 defines snap grooves 36 and

  38 corresponding behind the blade 14, and aligned

  with the rear wall 30, the boot 12 defines a fiber fall outlet channel, 40, which opens to the outside

of the housing 12.

  The attached box 42 has a channel 44 which passes through it and is intended to receive an optical fiber. In its left side wall 46, the added box 42 has ribs 48, 50, 52 and 54 (FIG. 5), which extend at

  the outside of surfaces 56 and 57 of the housing and which have the same

  me curved section as the snap grooves 32-38 for

  stay in the latter, as will be considered below.

  At its right end, the housing 42 has a rim 58 which rises from the upper surface 56 of the case and which has a configuration which allows it to be inserted into a guide 60 of the main housing 12.

  fiber 62 is supported cantilevered in the attached housing

  tee 42 and it includes parts 64 and 66 making an angle between them, with their vertex 68 placed at a level higher than the surface 56 Considering FIG. 5, it can be seen that the part of the retaining element 66 ends so rectilinear at the surface 66 a, which is arranged at a level lower than that of the surface 56 of the attached housing, with a retaining element end portion 69 which extends downwards

  from part 66 Ribs 70 and 72 of the housing

  carried 42 extend from the lower surface 62 a of the retaining element 62, towards the base 74, facing the fiber channel 44 The main housing 12 advantageously provides

  a shielded environment against electromagnetic interference

  genetic for optoelectronic transducers or any semiconductor necessary for the realization of a transmission channel, and it can therefore be constituted by aluminum, a carbonaceous plastic material or a plastic material comprising a coating, for example of chromium, on a nickel-copper underlay The material

  plastic must provide rigidity and can be a polycarbonate

  nate The insert 42 can be an elastic part molded from a thermoplastic material with a coefficient

  of high friction, for example a Du Pont elastomer

  marketed under the HYTREL brand This choice of materials

  puts compression on ribs 48-54 during insertion

  tion of the housing 42 in the main housing 12, as will now be considered in relation to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 shows the respective booters 12 and

  14 in what can be called a pre-ver-

  rusty, i.e. the bootmakers are fixed in a

  first stage of assembly To reach this pre-ver-

  rusted, we bring the insert 42 on the side of the

  main housing 12 with the side wall 46 of the first ad-

  adjacent to the side wall 22 of the second, and with the ribs

  res 48-54 coming into contact with the side wall 22, tan-

  say that the rim 58 is opposite the guide 60 We push in-

  following the housing 42 in the insertion channel 20, the nerves

  vures 48-54 compressing towards the surface 56 under the effect of

  insertion force applied As insertion progresses

  up to the point at which the compressed ribs 48 and 52 come into coincidence with the groove 34, while the compressed ribs 50 and 54 come into coincidence with the groove 38, the ribs return to their original state, which fixes the housings The contact between the flange 58 and the lateral walls of the guide 60 ensures that the ribs and the edges are arranged parallel during insertion. The elements of the housings are dimensioned so that the cutting edge 14 has the blade is to the left of the fiber channel 44, that is to say clear of this

  last, and so that the surface 66 has the element of re-

  outfit 62 is housed under the ceiling 24 of the main housing

  12, without being in contact with this ceiling.

  With the device thus assembled, the optical cable 76 of FIG. 2 (a) on which a connector is to be mounted is pushed into the channel 44 so as to protrude at the rear

  rim 58, preferably extending beyond the end

  mited from the outlet channel 40 of the main shoemaker 12 The cable 76 is a plastic fiber cable in the embodiment considered and, as can be seen in FIG. 6, the cable comprises a core 76 a, a sheath 76 b and an envelope 76 c At this time, the fiber is placed in

  the added boot 42 without being retained, since the element

  retaining ment 66 tends, by itself, to move outward, to occupy its position shown in FIG. 5 Thus, the cable 76 rests in the openings 78 and 80 of the attached housing 42, in alignment with the channel 44, and it comes into contact in a central position with the

  ribs 70 and 72, along the base 74.

  Figures 3 and 6 show the final assembly of connector 10 and cable 76, and this assembly is achieved

  by again applying an insertion force to the shoemaker

  worn 42, from its pre-locked state of Figure 2 (a), in which it contains a fiber During this action, three functions characteristic of the structure

thus defined are accomplished.

  A first function is that the cable 76 is retained in the channel 44. Thus, when the part of the retaining element 66 enters the insertion channel 20, it comes into contact with the ceiling 24 of the case 12, which produces a cam action by which the retaining element 62 is deflected downwards, so that the ribs and 72 which the retaining element 62 carries are forcibly brought into contact with the casing 76 c of the cable 76 Such a cam action continues until the point at which the top 68 of the retaining element comes into contact with the ceiling 24, the rear part 64 of the retaining element then being brought into force in alignment with the housing surface 56

reported 12.

  During the continuation of the insertion, and after

  the point at which cable 76 is retained in the housing

  carried 42, the opening 80 passes in front of the cutting edge 14 a

  of the blade, and a second function, consisting in the separation

  complete ration of fiber by cutting, takes place Such

  separation forms a connection end face of the fi

  bre, at the opening 80 The cable drop 76 enters

  in the outlet channel 40 and is ejected from the apparatus 10.

  During the final phase of insertion, the nervu-

  res 48-54 of the attached housing 42 again undergo compression towards the surface 56 leaving the grooves 34

  and 38 and again meet the ceiling 24 of the housing 12.

  The ribs remain compressed until they come

  coincide with grooves 32 and 36, and at this time

  the ribs 48 and 52 expand when entering the groove 32 while the ribs 50 and 54 expand

  entering the groove 36 The third function envi-

  sagged, that is to say the final retention of the insert 42

  in the main case 12, is thus obtained One can se-

  trim the assembly by inserting a screwdriver or similar tool into a disassembly slot 86 which tapers from the front wall 88 of the housing 12, penetrating into the inner side wall 28 and the insertion channel 20. From fact that the distance D1 (FIG. 1) between the center of the opening 78 and the side wall 46 is taken equal, according to the invention, to the distance D 2 (FIG. 4) between the internal wall 28 of the housing 12 and the center of the active device housing channel 82 of this housing,

  core 76 has fiber coincides with the center of the device

  active tif 84, for example a photodiode, which can be permanently mounted in the apparatus 10 or which can

  be installed by a user It should be noted that the wall

  cylindrical surface of channel 82 is a reference surface

  this for the connection with which the core 76 has is aligned,

  and the installation of an active device in channel 82 im-

  poses the alignment between the device and the core When it is desired to interconnect two fibers, instead of connecting a single fiber to an active device as envisaged by way of example, the second fiber is placed in the channel 82

instead of the active device.

  In its various aspects, the invention provides a linking process between the preparation of a fiber for mounting a connector and the mounting of the connector itself; an apparatus making it possible both to cut a fiber and to mount a connector on this fiber; a connector for optical fiber making it possible both to cut a fiber and to equip it with a connector; and a fiber optic connector component for cutting a fiber to allow

  to easily mount a connector on the fiber, in the field.

  The preceding embodiments can be subject to various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention. Thus, although the blade 14 is represented in the form of a component separate from the connector, it can

  4 be manufactured in one piece with the main housing.

  Although a pre-locked state is preferable, one can avoid

  how to implement the invention without this state, when desired Although we have described the mounting of a connector

  associating a single fiber with an active device, the

  tage of connectors and the interconnection of several fibers by the use of an interconnection loop in the main housing and by the modification of the attached housing so that it retains these fibers, are within the scope of the invention. joint mounting of a connector on a cable

  fiber and on an associated electrical conductor also follows

  LEMENT OF THE INVENTION In this adaptation, the cable and the conductor are jointly supported in the attached housing, to subject them to a movement which brings them respectively in coincidence with an active device and with an electrical contact, for example of the displacement type. insulation, in the main housing In addition, although the predetermined path of the relative movement of the fiber

  and the cutting device is straight, the invention

  globe of movements other than such a relative movement rec-

  tilinear or as successive translations of the boxes.

  Similarly, although the description has

  focused more specifically on cutting fibers from materials

  re plastic and on the mounting of connectors on such fibers, those skilled in the art will note that the invention is easily adaptable to other varieties of optical elements In addition, although the above has been used term "cut" and that the separation of fibers to form end faces of

  connection was made by a cutting movement

  completely pouring the fibers, a person skilled in the art will note the existence of other fiber separation techniques, for example consisting in cutting the surface of a fiber

  and then pull to produce a separation

  tion and form a connection end face.

  The embodiments and methods of the

  vention described and specially represented are therefore only examples that should not be taken in one sense

limiting.

Claims (11)

CLAIM   1 connector for optical fiber, characterized in that it comprises means (62) which can be actuated to   bring them into contact with a fiber (76) so as to retain   To define this, separation means (14) intended to define a connection end face for the fiber, and a housing structure (12, 42) intended to actuate the fiber retaining means (62). and to support the fiber retaining means and the separation means for their   do a relative movement, the bot structure   third defining a connection reference surface (82) adjacent to the connection end face of the fiber, whereby the housing structure can place the connection end face in coincidence with a end device (84).   2 connector according to claim 1, character-   se in that the separation means comprise a blade cutting (14).   3 connector according to claim 2, character-   se in that the structure of bootmakers (12, 42) supports the fiber retaining means (62) and the separation means (14) to cause them to perform a relative movement along a path defining an intersection such as the cutting blade ( 14) completely cut the fiber to define the connection end face.   4 connector according to claim 1, character-   in that the separation means further comprise a fiber cutting device (14) and in that it further comprises a supported fiber end device (84) by the structure of bootmakers.   Connector according to claim 4, characterized in that the shell structure further comprises a main shell (12) intended to actuate the fiber retaining means (62) and to support the cutting device (14) and the device end (84) in a relation -12 mutual fixed inside this housing, and an attached housing (42) which contains the fiber retaining means   (62) and which can be inserted in the main case.   6 connector according to claim 5, character-   in that the main housing defines an outlet channel (40) which opens outside of this housing, in position   adjacent to the cutting device (14), whereby the   tie cut from the fiber can be removed from the main shoemaker   pal (12) when it is cut.   7 connector according to claim 5, character-   in that the attached housing (42) defines a channel (44) for accommodating the fiber, and a fiber retaining element   (62) which is actuated by coming into contact with the bol-   main tier (12) during insertion, to retain the fiber inside.   8 connector according to claim 7, character-   se in that the fiber retainer (62) includes a retainer portion (66) which limits the fiber housing channel (44) and which can be deflected by contact with the main housing (12 ) during insertion,   way to come into contact with the fiber to retain it.   9 connector according to claim 8, character-   in that the main housing (12) defines first latching means (32, 36) intended to come into contact with the attached housing (42) and to retain the latter inside the main housing when the 'completion of insertion.   Connector according to claim 9, character-   in that the main housing (12) comprises second latching means (34, 38) intended to come into contact with the attached boot (42) and to retain the latter at   inside the main housing before completion of the in- setting.   11 connector according to claim 10, character-   in that the attached housing (42) comprises means __ - q   common (46, 50, 52, 54) intended to come into succesive contact   with the second and first latching means   (52, 36, 34, 38) of the main boot maker (12).   12 Method for cutting an optical fiber (76) and for bringing the cut fiber into coincidence with a device   end tif (84), in the connector of Tevendiation 3, ca-   characterized in that: (a) the fiber (76) is displaced on a predetermined path so as to retain the fiber of a   preselected way to a remote location from an ex-   end of the fiber and cut the fiber to define a   connection end face for this fiber at said location   cement; and (b) while continuing to retain the fiber of the   pre-selected way, the fiber is subjected to a displacement   extra on the predetermined path to arrange the connection end face and the device   end (84) in mutual coincidence.   13 The method of claim 12, character-   in that the operations (a) and (b) are implemented by successive displacements of the fiber (76) according to a   straight path which constitutes the predetermined trajectory born.