Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/381—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres
  • G02B6/3826—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres characterised by form or shape
  • G02B6/383—Hermaphroditic connectors, i.e. two identical plugs mating with one another, each plug having both male and female diametrically opposed engaging parts
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/389—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs characterised by the method of fastening connecting plugs and sockets, e.g. screw- or nut-lock, snap-in, bayonet type
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/381—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres
  • G02B6/3818—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres of a low-reflection-loss type
  • G02B6/3821—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs of the ferrule type, e.g. fibre ends embedded in ferrules, connecting a pair of fibres of a low-reflection-loss type with axial spring biasing or loading means
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/3873—Connectors using guide surfaces for aligning ferrule ends, e.g. tubes, sleeves, V-grooves, rods, pins, balls
  • G02B6/3874—Connectors using guide surfaces for aligning ferrule ends, e.g. tubes, sleeves, V-grooves, rods, pins, balls using tubes, sleeves to align ferrules
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/3887—Anchoring optical cables to connector housings, e.g. strain relief features
  • G02B6/3889—Anchoring optical cables to connector housings, e.g. strain relief features using encapsulation for protection, e.g. adhesive, molding or casting resin
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/24—Coupling light guides
  • G02B6/36—Mechanical coupling means
  • G02B6/38—Mechanical coupling means having fibre to fibre mating means
  • G02B6/3807—Dismountable connectors, i.e. comprising plugs
  • G02B6/3897—Connectors fixed to housings, casing, frames or circuit boards

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a contact device for optical fibres that can be connected together by means of the contact device.
• Optical contact devices for optical fibres have hitherto often been produced in an expensive manner and in sizes and weights that can readily result in fibre breakage's when handling and drawing mutually contacted cables in confined ducts and passageways.
• the price of contact devices is relatively high at present, owing to the fact that said devices are constructed from a large number of precision components .
• a contact device that although comprising only a small number of parts is able to fulfil requirements of low attenuation of the transmitted optical signal.
• the precision components used in the contact devices can preferably be standardised and produced in large volumes by a number of companies and therefore purchased at a low price.
• Other components can be injection-moulded from a polymeric material, which results in a very low price per unit.
• a significant feature of the inventive contact device is that it is intended for use together with an identical contact device, therewith enabling the contact devices to be mutually connected in the absence of an intermediate member and with solely the aid of a guide sleeve for the ends of the ferrules.
• a contact device enables the device to be secured to a chassis with the aid of two nuts, for instance.
• the contact device can be used to mutually connect two optical fibres in a cable duct for instance, and also to be readily fitted to a chassis, with the aid of the same contact device.
• Figure 1 is a sectional view illustrating the various component elements of the contact device to the left of the line A-A and to the right of the line B-B. The component elements are shown with obscured contours between the lines A-A and B-B.
• the Figure shows two contact devices that include identical components and that are assembled with contacted optical fibres, where a circular chassis-mounted contact device 20 is constructed in the same way as a contact device 21 connected to the contact device 20. Consequently, only the components of the chassis-mounted contact device 20 will be described hereinafter to any great extent .
• the chassis-mounted contact device 20 includes a cylindrical casing 1 that has an external thread 19 which enables the casing to be secured to a chassis plate 11, for instance with a left-hand nut 20 and a right-hand nut 13.
• the thread 19 can also serve as a gripping surface when coupling and decoupling the contact devices.
• the casing 1 on the chassis- mounted contact device 20 has a narrow part which forms a breakage protector 2 for an optical fibre 4 enclosed by a fibre protector 3.
• the casing 1 is also adapted to enclose an optical fibre ferrule which comprises a narrow cylindrical part 7 for receiving the optical fibre 4, where a bare optical fibre 4 is firmly glued or secured in some other way, a larger cylindrical part 5 in which the optical fibre casing is firmly glued, clamped or fastened in some other way, and a flange 6. Also included is a helical spring 8 which acts between the left end plane 26 of the flange and an end plane 9 in the chassis-mounted contact device 20, such as to urge the ferrule against a contact area. A similar coil spring 23 acts on the ferrule 24.
• the springs 8 and 23 are thus able to exert a constant outwardly acting pressure force on the ferrules and therewith provide good optical contact in the contact area in an interface 16 between the ground, polished or otherwise treated and contacted fibre ends in the chassis- mounted contact device 20 and in the contact device 21.
• the narrow cylindrical part 7 of the ferrule in the chassis- mounted contact device 20 is guided towards a narrow cylindrical part 24 on the ferrule in the contact device 21 by threading a tubular guide sleeve 10 on the mutually facing narrow parts 7 and 24 of respective ferrules.
• the chassis- mounted contact device 20 also includes at least one locking shoulder 15 that has an angled gripping surface 17 capable of co-acting with a counter-directional, similar locking shoulder 14 on the contact device 21, by gripping and retaining the locking shoulder 14 of the contact device 21 with its angled gripping surface 17.
• the first contact device 21 When fitting the contact device 21 to the chassis-mounted contact device 20, subsequent to having placed the guide sleeve 10 on the ferrule-ends containing optical fibres, the first contact device 21 is pressed towards the chassis- mounted contact device 20 until one end surface 18 of the contact device 21 reaches an end surface 22 on the contact device 20 and the ends of the optical fibres in the guide sleeve 10 come into contact with each other, whereafter the contact device 21 is turned clockwise until the locking shoulders meet. With the angled gripping surface of the locking shoulders 14 and 15 oppositely directed and located opposite one another, the spring forces exerted after releasing the contact device 21 will move the angled gripping surfaces into engagement with another and the contact between the ends of the optical fibres in the ends of the ferrules will be retained.
• the contact device 21 is removed from the chassis-mounted contact device 20 by pressing the contact device 21 towards the chassis-mounted contact device 20 until the end surface 18 of the contact device 21 reaches the end surface 22 on the contact device 20 and the gripping surfaces are mutually separated.
• the contact device 21 is then rotated, for instance, through 90 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction, so that the locking shoulder 15 on the chassis-mounted contact device 20 will pass free from the locking shoulder 14 on the contact device 21.
• the contact device 21 is therewith drawn to the right, which results in the optical contact between the ends of the optical fibres being broken at the interface 16, wherewith the spring pressure in the springs 8 and 23 exerted on respective ferrules decreases in the chassis-mounted contact device 20 and in the contact device 21 respectively.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)

Priority Applications (1)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20281235

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

Cited By (1)

Citations (2)

• 2000
  • 2000-09-29 SE SE0003513A patent/SE520175C2/sv unknown
  • 2000-11-27 TW TW089125132A patent/TW476014B/zh not_active IP Right Cessation
• 2001
  • 2001-09-24 AU AU2001290444A patent/AU2001290444A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2001-09-24 WO PCT/SE2001/002044 patent/WO2002027374A1/en active Application Filing

Patent Citations (2)

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