Optical waveguides – With disengagable mechanical connector – Optical fiber to a nonfiber optical device connector
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-29
2003-09-02
Sanghavi, Hemang (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
With disengagable mechanical connector
Optical fiber to a nonfiber optical device connector
C385S048000, C385S047000, C385S044000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06612751
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical repeating device with a monitoring function to be inserted in an optical transmission line such as optical fibers, and so forth for detecting lightwave signals being transmitted through the optical transmission line.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional technologies in this field have been described in, for example, the following documents.
Document 1: Japanese Patent Publication No. H3-60090;
Title of the Invention; Optical Connector
Publication Date; Sep. 12, 1991
Document 2: Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2586555;
Title of the Invention; Optical Demultiplexer-Multiplexer
Registration Date; Oct. 2, 1998
A technology related to an optical connector for connecting two lengths of optical fibers with each other is described in Document 1. The optical connector comprises a pair of ferrules, each attached to the tip of the respective lengths of the optical fibers to be connected with each other and having a part to be grasped, a guide member for causing the pair of the ferrules to be inserted, therethrough and secured thereby by moving the same in the direction of a coupling axis, and for aligning the core axes of the both lengths of the optical fibers with each other, and a housing for securely holding the pair of the ferrules, formed independently from the guide member. The housing for securely holding the pair of the ferrules is formed of a metal sheet of uniform thickness, having a bottom portion which is a flat section, and a grasping part having elasticity, vertically upstanding from the bottom portion at opposite ends thereof, respectively, and the respective grasping parts are provided with a groove into which the pair of the ferrules inserted through the guide member are fitted, respectively. When the pair of the ferrules are fitted into the respective grooves, the respective grasping parts and the bottom portion undergo deformation in an arched shape, whereupon an elastic force developed presses the respective parts to be grasped such that the pair of the ferrules are butted against each other in the direction of the respective core axes by the agency of the respective grasping parts.
With the optical connector as described in Document 1, since it is constructed such that coated optical fibers are connected with each other in a condition wherein the same are butted against each other in the direction of the respective core axes by simply fitting the pair of the ferrules inserted through a sleeve into the housing for securely holding the pair of the ferrules, it is possible to downsize the optical connector, and further to facilitate assembling and disassembling of the optical connector. Further, since the sleeve and the housing for securely holding the pair of the ferrules are formed independently from each other, it is possible to align satisfactorily the core axes of the coated optical fibers with each other by the sleeve without being affected by other external forces.
Now a technology related to an optical demultiplexer-multiplexer with a filter block mounted in a case thereof is described in Document 2. With the optical demultiplexer-multiplexer, the filter block is mounted on a single island-like portion of a mounting surface of the case, formed by cutting a groove around the periphery thereof, and having a surface area smaller than that of the bottom of the filter block.
With the optical demultiplexer-multiplexer according to Document 2, since the single island-like portion for mounting the filter block thereon is formed on the mounting surface of the case by cutting the groove around the periphery thereof, the island-like portion constituted as a fixture mount for the filter block is simple in structure, and also, can be formed with ease. Further, as the filter block is mounted on the island-like portion having the surface area smaller than that of the bottom of the filter block, high stability in performance of the optical demultiplexer-multiplexer against variation in temperature is obtained.
In the past, there have been used an optical repeating device for detecting whether or not lightwave signals are transmitted through an optical transmission line, comprising in combination, for example, an optical branch, optical fibers, photo diode (referred to hereinafter as PD), light emitting diode (referred to hereinafter as LED), and so forth. In this connection, the optical branch is to branch off a portion of a lightwave signal being transmitted through the optical transmission line by use of a half mirror, and so forth, and is made up using technologies such as the technology described in Document 2. Then, a lightwave signal, branched off by the optical branch, is taken into the optical fibers, and the lightwave signal, taken into the optical fibers, is converted into an electric signal by the PD. The electric signal as converted is displayed as a visible signal by the LED. As a result, it has been possible to detect whether or not the lightwave signal is transmitted through the optical transmission line by visually watching such a display.
However, with the conventional optical repeating device, the following problems have been encountered.
That is, since the conventional optical repeating device comprises in combination a plurality of optical devices such as the optical branches, PDs, and so forth, there is a tendency of the number of devices increasing while requiring the optical connector, and so forth, made up using the technology described in Document 1, and the like for connecting these devices with each other Consequently, it has been difficult to achieve downsizing of the optical repeating device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a first object of the invention to simplify and downsize the construction of a housing by providing optical branching means for branching off, and reflecting a portion of a lightwave signal propagating through first optical propagation means and second optical propagation means in a given direction, and by disposing photodetection means such as PDs on the optical axis of the lightwave signal reflected, and also to provide an optical repeating device with a monitoring function, wherein the first optical propagation means, second optical propagation means, photodetection means, and so forth are assembled into the housing, and integrated therewith, so that needs for connecting devices such as optical connectors are eliminated, thereby enabling a whole structure to be simplified and downsized.
A second object of the invention is to provide an optical repeating device with a monitoring function, wherein the first optical propagation means and the second optical propagation means are made up of a relaying optical fiber, and a ferrule formed of a transmissive member for covering the periphery of the relaying optical fiber for protection, respectively, so that the lightwave signal reflected by the optical branching means is allowed to pass through the ferrule formed of the transmissive member so as to be guided with ease to the photodetection means.
A third object of the invention is to provide an optical repeating device with a monitoring function, wherein the optical branching means are made up by forming a metallic film or a multi-layered dielectric coating on respective branching faces of the first optical propagation means and the second optical propagation means by vapor deposition, so that assembling and adjustment work to be performed when joining the first optical propagation means and the second optical propagation means together can be simplified.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide an optical repeating device with a monitoring function, wherein the optical branching means for reflecting a portion of the lightwave signal propagated from the first optical propagation means in a first direction relative to the optical axis of the lightwave signal, and for reflecting a portion of the lightwave signal propagated from the second optical propagation means in a second direction, opposite from the fi
Kawahara Fumika
Okawa Takayuki
Watanabe Katsumi
Dickstein , Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky, LLP
Knauss Scott A.
Tohoku Electric Power Co. Inc.
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