Optical waveguides – With disengagable mechanical connector – Structure surrounding optical fiber-to-fiber connection
Patent
1992-11-16
1994-08-09
Healy, Brian
Optical waveguides
With disengagable mechanical connector
Structure surrounding optical fiber-to-fiber connection
385 60, 385 62, 385 76, 385 77, 385 78, 385 66, 385 84, 385 87, G02B 626, G02B 638
Patent
active
053373855
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a terminating device for at least one optical waveguide, an optical waveguide connector and an optical waveguide connector assembly. There are many fields of application in which optical waveguides in the form of optical fibers are employed for signal transmission. In comparison with signal transmission by means of electrical conductors, optical waveguides offer the advantage of considerably higher frequency band width and the elimination of problems due to electromagnetic interference signals. The term "optical waveguide" will be abbreviated in the following description by "OWG".
Just as with electrical conductors, the need for connectors exists also for optical waveguides. Such pluggable connectors are either used for coupling optical waveguides with each other, by holding their ends to be coupled in closely opposed relation, or optical waveguides are coupled with light-transmitting or light-receiving optoelectronic components by holding the optical waveguide ends in closely opposed relation to the optically transmitting or receiving areas of an optoelectronic component.
In order to keep the light transmission losses in pluggable connections for optical waveguides as low as possible, care must be taken that the optical waveguides to be coupled are centered as exactly as possible with respect to each other or with respect to the optoelectronic components and that the areas to be optically coupled are held as parallel and close to each other as possible. Due to the small diameter of common optical waveguides, very high accuracy of the mutual radial positioning of the optical waveguides to be coupled with the pluggable connection is necessary. When using conventional technologies for optical waveguide connections, it turns out almost impossible, especially for multi-pole connectors, to ensure such accurate radial positioning simultaneously for all optical waveguides to be coupled.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention therefore is to indicate measures through which this problem can be overcome.
This object is met on the one hand by a terminating device for an optical waveguide, comprising a sleeve-like terminating member provided with a through-opening having an optical waveguide section firmly disposed in one end thereof and an end portion of the optical waveguide to be terminated being insertable into the other end thereof substantially so as to reach the optical waveguide section, the free end of the optical waveguide section remote from the optical waveguide to be terminated being provided with a plane surface.
The optical waveguide section preferably consists of plastics material, for instance acrylic glass, is glued into the terminating member and is ground to be plane at the free end thereof, preferably together with the corresponding end of the terminating member.
The terminating members are preferably made as separate components, together with the optical waveguide sections mounted therein and inclusive of the plane grinding operation. These may then be inserted, as required, in optical waveguide connections with different pole numbers and different construction. This can take place either in the shop of the manufacturer of such connectors or at the site where such connectors are mounted or repaired.
To this end, an optical waveguide to be terminated is cut, during manufacture of the connectors or at the mounting site, to the desired length and is inserted with its cut end into the waveguide section free or empty end of the through-opening of a terminating member until it meets the optical waveguide section.
Upon assembly or repair of such a connector at the mounting site, the assembler usually does not have a possibility of grinding the cut end of an optical waveguide in plane manner. For this purpose, an adaptation gel is preferably provided between the optical waveguide section and the end of the optical waveguide introduced in the terminating member, said gel having a refractive index that is matched to that of the optical waveguide sect
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Baderschneider Kurt P.
Hotea Gheorghe
Kourimsky Friedrich J. A.
Aberle Timothy J.
Groen Eric J.
Healy Brian
The Whitaker Corporation
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