Optical waveguides – With splice – Including splice joint reinforcement
Reexamination Certificate
2000-08-11
2003-05-13
Ullah, Akm E. (Department: 2874)
Optical waveguides
With splice
Including splice joint reinforcement
C385S031000, C385S033000, C385S034000, C359S199200, C359S199200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06561701
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of The Invention
The invention relates to the packaging and sealing of a multi-port fiber optic device, and particularly to those of an optical DWDM (Dense-Wavelength-Division-Multiplexing) multiplexer or demultiplexer.
2. The Related Art
The multi-port fiber optic device as disclosed in the copending patent application Ser. No. 09/577,200 filed May 23, 2000, is very vulnerable to the environmental stress and the handling situation. In order to maintain stable performance under the harsh environmental conditions and over the long-term applications, proper sealing of the whole device is relatively very important. The prior art in sealing such a device normally uses a sleeve with the device threaded therein and is sealed with caps shielding both ends of the sleeve. The corresponding optical fibers are threaded through the center of the cap and protected by the flexible rubbery boots circumferentially around the end of the sleeve.
The main disadvantage of the prior art is that it has difficulties to thread the device into the sleeve, fix the device with regard to the sleeve, and further more evenly apply the sealing material/mechanism on the device. Additionally, threading of the fibers complicates the procedure and applying of the sealing material may contaminate the whole package which may severely impair the packaging quality. In brief, relatively more components and procedures complicates and costs the whole assembly relatively too much.
An object of the invention is to provide a multiplexer/demultiplexer with an easy packaging and reliable sealing to protect the internal multi-port fiber optic device and the method making the same. The package is to protect the device from moisture, mechanical impact and other environmental stress.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to an aspect of the invention, a fiber optic assembly comprises a multi-port fiber optic device pre-coated with flexible rubbery material which functions as buffer. The multi-port fiber optic device with the associated rubbery material then is rolled into and wrapped/packaged by a metallic foil with a sealing material coated thereon. The whole package including the metallic foil and the multi-port fiber optic device, has a roll configuration and is crimped at both ends. Lastly, the sealing material is cured/vulcanized to finish the full packaging. Therefore, the finalized fiber optic assembly owns a compact, robust structure, low cost in manufacturing, and high stability in a hazardous environment.
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Chang Peter C.
Liu Yuqiao
Alliance Fiber Optics Products, Inc.
Doan Jennifer
Ullah Akm E.
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