Optical waveguides – With disengagable mechanical connector – Optical fiber/optical fiber cable termination structure
Patent
1996-07-01
1997-03-25
Healy, Brian
Optical waveguides
With disengagable mechanical connector
Optical fiber/optical fiber cable termination structure
385 66, 385 68, 385 77, 65404, 264 121, 264 124, 264 56, G02B 636, C03B 1800, B29D 1100
Patent
active
056152914
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
UTILIZABLE FIELD IN THE INDUSTRY
The present invention relates to a capillary for an optical fiber connector to be used for an optical connector for transmitting an optical signal between optical fibers wherein tip surfaces of two optical fibers are confronted with each other.
PRIOR ART
An optical fiber connector is an article to connect optical fibers so that optical signals are transmitted well between optical fibers by precisely confronting tip surfaces of two optical fibers.
FIG. 17 is a sectional view showing schematic structure of a representative optical connector presently used. The optical connector 100 connects left and right fiber optics cables 101 and 101' of the figure.
In the fiber optics cables 101 and 101", optical fibers 102 and 102' are passed through. The optical fibers 102 and 102' are peeled off from the fiber optics cables 101 and 101' and inserted through a narrow hole 105 at the center of a capillary 104 in the optical connector 100 and fixed with an adhesive. The capillaries 104 and 104' are set in a sleeve 106 by confronting with each other to the axial direction. Both capillaries 104 and 104' are connected at their tip surfaces at substantially the center in the sleeve 106 (capillary contacting tip surface 108, machined to spherical or plane surface). At the contacting tip surfaces of the capillary, optical fibers 102 and 102' should be closely contacted with each other substantially without axial deviation or angle deviation. Said contacting tip surfaces are previously polished when manufacturing a capillary to adjust the shape of the tip surfaces, and finally, it is integrally polished with an optical fiber on-site and then assembled. Thus, optical signals can be passed through both optical fibers substantially without attenuation nor reflection. Incidentally, flanges 107 and 107' at the both ends of the optical connector 100 are fixed to fiber optics cables 101 and 101' by an adhesive and inserted into a housing mating portion via a click, and the housing mating portion is connected with a sleeve 106 (not shown) by a screw, a bionet lock, a push-on lock, etc. Therefore, a force worked between fiber optics cables 101 and 101' is transferred from flanges 107 and 107' to the sleeve 106, and no force is applied to optical fibers 102.
An example of the size of respective portions of the optical connector 100 is as follows.
Characteristics required for a material for such an optical connector capillary are as follows. straightness and concentricity of the narrow hole and the outer peripheral surface can be made with good precision. connector assembling or connecting operation, or impact is applied thereto, not broken. .degree.C. of the optical fiber, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the material is not so far therefrom. If the optical fiber recedes in or projects out of the narrow hole of the capillary due to temperature change, it becomes loss in optical signal transmission.
As the materials for a capillary of optical fiber which is required for such characteristics, a ceramic sintered body has widely been used. The reason can be considered that it is excellent in the following points as compared with metal and plastics. during machining is occurred so that machining can be carried out precisely. Also, when capillaries are butted, they are not deformed by butting pressure. fiber can be easily inserted even when clearance of an inner diameter of the capillary and an outer diameter of the fiber is 1 .mu.m or less. excellent in heat resistance so that it is durable against change in thermal circumstance. surface due to wear powder is hardly occurred and connection failure is seldom generated at repeated connecting-and-releasing of a connector.
As for the shape or materials of a capillary for an optical fiber connector and a process for producing the same, many numbers of patent applications have been filed. For example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei. 1-45042, a process for producing a capillary for an optical fiber connector which contains the steps of forming an o
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Hayakawa Makoto
Kobayashi Osamu
Yamauchi Takeshi
Healy Brian
Toto Ltd.
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