GB2056705A - Optical fibre connections - Google Patents
Optical fibre connections Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2056705A GB2056705A GB8027161A GB8027161A GB2056705A GB 2056705 A GB2056705 A GB 2056705A GB 8027161 A GB8027161 A GB 8027161A GB 8027161 A GB8027161 A GB 8027161A GB 2056705 A GB2056705 A GB 2056705A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- optical fibre
- termination
- ferrule
- casing
- fibre
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Withdrawn
Links
- 239000013307 optical fiber Substances 0.000 title claims abstract description 51
- 239000000835 fiber Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 27
- 230000003287 optical effect Effects 0.000 claims description 11
- 239000011347 resin Substances 0.000 claims description 3
- 229920005989 resin Polymers 0.000 claims description 3
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 claims 1
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 claims 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 6
- 239000004417 polycarbonate Substances 0.000 description 5
- 229920000515 polycarbonate Polymers 0.000 description 5
- 239000004033 plastic Substances 0.000 description 4
- 229920003023 plastic Polymers 0.000 description 4
- 229910001220 stainless steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 3
- 239000010935 stainless steel Substances 0.000 description 3
- 239000000853 adhesive Substances 0.000 description 2
- 230000001070 adhesive effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 238000006748 scratching Methods 0.000 description 2
- 230000002393 scratching effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 229910000639 Spring steel Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 238000004026 adhesive bonding Methods 0.000 description 1
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 1
- 229910052710 silicon Inorganic materials 0.000 description 1
- 239000010703 silicon Substances 0.000 description 1
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
- G02B6/3833—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture
- G02B6/3847—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture with means preventing fibre end damage, e.g. recessed fibre surfaces
-
- 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
- G02B6/382—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 index-matching medium between light guides
-
- 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
- G02B6/3888—Protection from over-extension or over-compression
-
- 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
- G02B6/3833—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture
- G02B6/3855—Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture characterised by the method of anchoring or fixing the fibre within the ferrule
- G02B6/3858—Clamping, i.e. with only elastic deformation
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Optics & Photonics (AREA)
- Mechanical Coupling Of Light Guides (AREA)
Abstract
A detachable optical fibre connector in which the ends of the fibres 4 to be joined are loosely held in respective ferrules 11, the ferrules fitting to a common sleeve 2 containing a common capillary 6 in which the fibre ends abut. The exposed ends of the fibres are protected when the connector is withdrawn by their respective spring loaded ferrules advancing over them. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Optical fibre connectors
This invention relates to optical fibre connectors and in particular, but not exclusively, to such connectors used for detachably connecting single optical fibres to each other.
In known connectors for detachably connecting individual optical fibres to each other the exposed ends of respective optical fibres are inserted into a common capillary or sleeve arranged to hold the optical fibre ends in axial alignment in order to reduce to a minimum the attenuation of light by the connection. Such connectors usually comprise a pair of terminations through which the ends of respective fibres pass, each optical fibre being held in position in its respective termination by gluing or clamping.
The connection is completed by fitting the two terminations to respective ends of a common sleeve which includes a capillary into which the exposed ends of the optical fibres are guided.
When an optical fibre is detached from its connectorthe end of the optical fibre is exposed and may easily be damageed by scratching or fracturing for example.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an optical fibre termination which protects the end of an optical fibre when the optical fibre is detached from its mounting.
According to one aspect of the present invention an optical fibre termination comprises a casing, a ferrule within said casing arranged for surrounding an end of an optical fibre, and spring means which is interposed between said casing and said ferrule and which is arranged to urge the open end of the ferrule over the end of the optical fibre.
Preferably the termination includes a collar arranged to clamp holding means to an optical fibre to hold said optical fibre in position within the ferrule.
The casing may include a flange arranged to co-operate with the collar such that when the termination is removed from its mounting, a sleeve for example, the end of a fitted optical fibre is urged away from the mounting.
The casing may include means for holding the termination to a mounting, which means may be a screw thread arranged to mesh with a corresponding thread on the mounting.
The ferrule may include a conical section arranged to guide the end of an optical fibre towards an opening in the end of the ferrule when the ferrule is moved over the fibre end.
The ferrule and the casing may be made from a plastics material, for example a polycarbonate material, or may be made from stainless steel.
According to another aspect of the present invention in an optical fibre connector comprising a sleeve arranged to receive a pair of optical fibre terminations, at least one of said terminations comprises a casing, a ferrule within said casing arranged to surround an end of an optical fibre and spring means which is interposed between the ferrule and the casing and which is arranged to urge the open end of the ferrule over an end of the optical fibre.
Preferably the sleeve includes an insert within which a capillary is formed. The capillary may be a close fit with the ends of respective optical fibres and may include a pad of index-matching resin at or about its longitudinal centre.
The insert may be arranged to be an interference fit within the sleeve or may be held in place by adhesive. Alternatively the capillary may be formed integral within the sleeve.
The respective casings of each termination may include screw threads arranged to co-operate with corresponding threads on the sleeve to hold the terminations to the sleeve.
The sleeve may be made from a plastics material, such as a polycarbonate material, or may be made from stainless steel.
A detachable optical fibre connector including optical fibre terminations in accordance with the present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing which shows a cross sectional view of a part of the connector.
Referring to the drawing, the connector comprises a sleeve 1, only a part of which is shown, which sleeve is arranged to receive two optical fibre terminations 3, only one of which is shown.
The sleeve 1 which is substantially symmetrical about the line AA surrounds and holds a fibre guide 2 in which a capillary 6 is formed or drilled. The capillary 6 may be a close fit with the bared end of an optical fibre 4 and may include a pad of silicon or index-matching resin to protect the end of the fibre 4 from damage by scratching for example. Respective pads 5 may in practice be formed on the ends of respective optical fibres 4.
The sleeve 1 and the fibre guide 2 may be made from a plastics material such as polycarbonate and may be integrally formed. If the sleeve 1 and the fibre guide 2 are not integral with one another then either the fibre guide 2 is arranged to be an interference fit with the sleeve 1 or the fibre guide 2 may be held in place with a suitable adhesive.
The capillary 6, which is not necessarily concentric with the fibre guide 2, has conically shaped openings to guide respective ends of optical fibres 4 into place in axial alignment.
The termination 3 comprises an outer casing 10 having an internal screw thread which is arranged to engage with a corresponding screw thread on the sleeve 1, a ferrule 11 which surrounds and protects the bared end of the optical fibre 4, a collar 14, an inner casing 13, and coil springs 12 arranged to urge the ferrule 11 over the fibre end when the termination 3 is withdrawn. The collar 14 is an interference fit with the inner casing 13 and is arranged to use the flexibility of the collar to clamp the inner casing 13 to the outer casing 10 to enable the position of the outer casing 10 to be adjusted in relation to the end of the fibre 4 to which the inner casing 13 is crimped.
The ferrule 11 and the inner casing 13 are made of a plastics material, polycarbonate, the case 10 being made from either polycarbonate or stainless steel and the collar 14 from spring steel for example.
The connector is assembled by first removing a length of the outer casing 7from the ends of the respective fibres 4 which are to be interconnected.
For each of the respective fibres 4 a plug 15, the collar 14 and the case 10 are threaded over the fibre end and the fibre outer casing 7. The fibre end is then inserted by way of the inner casing 13 into the ferrule 11 which is held in the fully extended position by the springs 12. A flange 17 on the inner casing 13 retains the ferrule 11 within the inner casing by means of a flange 18 of the ferrule. The inner casing 13 is passed over the fibre outer casing 7 until the fibre end is correctly positioned within a conically shaped section of the ferrule 11 and is then clamped to the outer casing 10 by the collar 14. The plug 15 is then fitted to hold the termination together.
When a termination is fitted to the sleeve 1 the ferrule 11 is pushed back over the fibre end against the pressure of the springs 12 by contact with the fibre guide 2. The fibre end is guided initially by the conical section of the ferrule 11 and then by the conical section of the fibre guide 2 into axial position within the capillary 6. When the other termination is fitted to the sleeve 1 the two fibre ends are then held in axial alignment.
When a termination is unscrewed from the sleeve a flange 16 of the casing 10 acts on the end of the collar 14 to pull the inner casing 13 and hence the fibre 4 away from the capillary 6. The springs i2 maintain the end of the ferrule 11 in contact with the fibre guide 2 until the end of the fibre 4 is again within the conical section of the ferrule.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to joining two fibres in an end to end relationship it will be readily understood that the fibre termination 3 may be used with a suitable socket for connecting one or more optical fibres to apparatus and is particularly advantageous for manufacturing in smali sizes for connecting to printed circuit boards mounted side by side in racks for example.
It will also be readily understood that the optical fibre connector described herein before may be readily manufactured in a multiway plug and socket form in a similar manner to that described in our co-pending patent application No.8027150.
Claims (14)
1. An optical fibre termination comprising a casing. a ferrule within said casing arranged for surrounding an end of an optical fibre, and spring means interposed between the casing and the ferrule, said spring means being arranged to urge the open end of the ferrule over the end of the optical fibre such that the end of the fibre is within the ferrule when the termination is detached from its mounting.
2. An optical fibre termination as claimed in
Claim 1 including a collar arranged to clamp holding means to the optical fibre such that the optical fibre has a fixed positional relationship with the casing but is free to pass through the open end of,the ferrule.
3. An optical fibre termination as claimed in
Claim 2 in which the casing includes an inwardly
projecting flange arranged to co-operate with the
collar such that when the termination is detached from its mounting the end of the optical fibre is
urged away from the mounting.
4. An optical fibre termination as claimed in
Claim 1, Claim 2 or Claim 3 in which the casing
includes means for holding the termination to a
mounting.
5. An optical fibre termination as claimed in
Claim 4 in which the means for holding the termination to the mounting is a screw thread cut in the casing arranged to mate with a corresponding screw thread on the mounting.
6. An optical fibre termination as claimed in any preceding Claim in which the ferrule includes a conical section at the end distant from the casing, said conical section being arranged to guide the end of the optical fibre towards an opening in the ferrule when the ferrule is moved over the fibre end.
7. An optical fibre connector arranged for connecting a pair of optical fibres in an end-to-end relationship comprising a sleeve to which two optical fibre terminations are detachably fitted, one of the terminations being a termination in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 6.
8. An optical fibre connector as claimed in Claim 7 in which each of the optical fibre terminations is a termination in accordance with any one of Claims 1 to 6.
9. An optical fibre connector as claimed in Claim 7 or Claim 8 in which the sleeve includes a capillary which is a close fit with the optical fibres to be fitted.
10. An optical fibre connector as claimed in
Claim 9 in which the capillary includes a pad of index matching resin at or about its longitudinal centre.
11. An optical fibre connector as claimed in
Claim 9 or Claim 10 in which the sleeve includes a conical section at each end, the conical sections being arranged to guide the ends of respective optical fibres towards the opening of the capillary on insertion of the respective fibres.
12. An optical fibre connector as claimed in any one of of claims 7 to 11 in which the sleeve has a screw thread at each end, said screw threads being arranged to mate with respective corresponding screw threads on the optical fibre terminations.
13. An optical fibre termination substantially as - hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
14. An optical fibre connector substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8027161A GB2056705A (en) | 1979-08-20 | 1980-08-20 | Optical fibre connections |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7928921 | 1979-08-20 | ||
| GB8027161A GB2056705A (en) | 1979-08-20 | 1980-08-20 | Optical fibre connections |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2056705A true GB2056705A (en) | 1981-03-18 |
Family
ID=26272628
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB8027161A Withdrawn GB2056705A (en) | 1979-08-20 | 1980-08-20 | Optical fibre connections |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| GB (1) | GB2056705A (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR2657697A1 (en) * | 1990-01-29 | 1991-08-02 | Radiall Sa | CONNECTOR FOR OPTICAL FIBERS. |
| US5993071A (en) * | 1996-09-30 | 1999-11-30 | The Whitaker Corporation | Apparatus for connecting optical fibre connectors |
-
1980
- 1980-08-20 GB GB8027161A patent/GB2056705A/en not_active Withdrawn
Cited By (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR2657697A1 (en) * | 1990-01-29 | 1991-08-02 | Radiall Sa | CONNECTOR FOR OPTICAL FIBERS. |
| EP0441676A1 (en) * | 1990-01-29 | 1991-08-14 | RADIALL Société anonyme dite: | Connector for optical fibres |
| US5134676A (en) * | 1990-01-29 | 1992-07-28 | Radiall | Connector for fiber optics |
| US5993071A (en) * | 1996-09-30 | 1999-11-30 | The Whitaker Corporation | Apparatus for connecting optical fibre connectors |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| WAP | Application withdrawn, taken to be withdrawn or refused ** after publication under section 16(1) |