3M Innovative Properties Company

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Corning Research & Development Corporation

Akihiko Yazaki

Takaya Yamauchi

Tomoyasu Oike

James R Bylander

Wesley A Raider

Kenichi Nakazawa

Yasuhiko Hoshino

Eric M Morgan

Tsunetaka Ema

Tomayasu Oike

Kirk L Taylor

William Vogel Dower

Hiroki Hagiwara

James B Carpenter

Anthony William Gatica

John T Cowher

Akira Maruyama

Kuniaki Terakawa

Hiroyuki Tanase

Tatsuya Nakajima

Masashi Awamori

Shingo Moriyasu

Tomoyuki Soga

Masanobu Toyonaga

Jason D Kordecki

Shinichi Abe

Hiroyuki Sato

A fiber optic adapter for use with a fiber optic connector is provided. The fiber optic adapter indicates during installation of the connector when the connector is properly installed in the fiber optic adapter. The adapter includes a housing with a cavity at one end for receiving the fiber optic connector. The housing contains a sliding latch configured to contact the fiber optic connector when the fiber optic connector is inserted into the cavity. The sliding latch is movable within the housing from an extended position to a latched position. A connector latch in the housing is configured to engage the stop when the sliding latch is at the latched position. A spring is coupled to the sliding latch and is compressible during insertion of the fiber optic connector into the cavity. When the fiber optic connector is inserted into the cavity, the fiber optic adapter indicates when the sliding latch is not at the latched position.

Fiber optic adapters for use with fiber optic connectors and methods for coupling fiber optic connectors

Provided is an antenna structure that can be attached with ease and is likely to blend into environments. An antenna structureincludes: plural antenna elementsconfigured individually and arranged discretely; and a basewhich adheres to at least side surfaces of the antenna elements, in which the plural antenna elementsare embedded and fixed, and which forms a plate-like outer shape.

Antenna structure

A cable gripping structure for securing an optical fiber cable in an optical fiber connector possesses a base part and a pair of support walls disposed opposite one another on the base part, and blade parts for gripping the optical fiber cable are disposed on the pair of support walls, at the tip ends thereof and separated from the bases of the support walls.

Cable gripping structure and optical fiber connector

An optical connector comprises a connector housing having splice means configured to abut a stripped and cleaved end surface of a plain fiber of an optical fiber cable onto an end of a fiber stub predisposed in the splice means to form an optical connection. A cable fixing assembly includes a cable fixing member and a cable holder for fixing an outer covering of the optical fiber cable introduced into said connector housing. The cable fixing member includes an opposing piece for slidably engaging with a guide section formed on the wall of an end cap of the connector housing. A step section is formed on the sliding surface of the opposing piece for sliding contact with the sliding surface of the guide section. The cable fixing member moves together with the optical fiber cable so as to reduce a distance between the splice means and the cable holder.

Method of assembling an optical connector and an optical connector

A plug-type optical connector is provided with a ferrule and an aligning sleeve member. The aligning sleeve member receives a portion of the ferrule including an abutting end face inside a bore to prevent staining and damage and uses a movable shutter to prevent light emitted through the ferrule from leaking to the outside. The socket type optical connector is provided with a ferrule and a holding section. The optical connector is not provided with an aligning sleeve member and further can hold a coated optical fiber by a holding section behind the ferrule by a radius of curvature of at least a prescribed minimum radius of curvature. Optical loss in the coated optical fiber can be reduced while effectively reducing the external dimensions in the direction of extension of the ferrule at the time of use. An optical fiber connecting device that includes a combination of a pair of optical connectors is also provided to be suitably applied to an optical transmission line laid indoors.

Optical connector, optical fiber with connector, optical fiber connecting device, and optical fiber connection method

The optical fiber connector includes a connector housing (), having a splice assembly () therein, and an end cap () attached to one end of the connector housing (), from which leads out a primary coating portion (). A boundary () between a portion of the primary coating portion (), obtained by removing an outer coating () of the inner cover () while leaving an inner coating (), and a portion obtained by leaving the outer coating () of the inner cover (), is located in the interior of the connector housing (). The end cap () is provided in the interior thereof with a tubular portion and an extension extending from an end of the tubular portion, the tubular portion including an insert hole for an insertion of the primary coating portion () approximately coaxially with a guiding hole formed in the splice assembly accommodated in the connector housing () for guiding the primary coating portion () leading out from the splice assembly. The extension includes a strain-control hole, communicating with the insert hole, for receiving said boundary () of the primary coating portion (), and for controlling stress at the boundary ().

Optical fiber connector

An optical connector and a method of assembling an optical connector that is capable of avoiding generation of unnecessary tension in the optical fiber cable in which plain fiber portions are optically connected to each other using a splice assembly. The optical connector comprises a connector housing having splice means configured to abut a stripped and cleaved end surface of a plain fiber of an optical fiber cable () onto an end of a fiber stub predisposed in the splice means to form an optical connection; and a cable fixing assembly (), that includes a cable fixing member () and a cable holder (), for fixing an outer covering () of the optical fiber cable () introduced into said connector housing (). The cable fixing member (), which includes an opposing piece () for slidably engaging with a guide section () formed on the wall of an end cap () of the connector housing (), is pressed in from the direction perpendicular to the axis of the optical fiber cable () and is mounted on the wall of the end cap (). A step section is formed on the sliding surface of the opposing piece () to be in sliding contact with the sliding surface of the guide section (), for moving the cable fixing member () together with the optical fiber cable () so as to reduce a distance between the splice means () and the cable holder ().

An optical fiber cleaving device includes an auxiliary support section movably disposed on a base section independently from a blade section and a pusher section. The auxiliary support section can be selectively disposed at the operable position for supporting an unsheathed optical fiber in cooperation with a pair of clamp sections. The auxiliary support section is constituted by a thin plate member having fiber support faces locally located between the clamp sections at the operable position and a relief area formed adjacent to the fiber support faces. The fiber support faces come in contact with the portions of a local length of the unsheathed optical fiber extending between the clamp sections, the local length being located away from the fiber cleaving position, and the relief area is so arranged as to avoid the contact with a portion of a second local length of the unsheathed optical fiber, located at the fiber cleaving position. The cleaving device can provide highly accurate cleaving for optical fibers having different fiber structures without changing the preset conditions for the clamp sections.

Device and method for cleaving optical fibers

A straight type optical connector enables a splicing operation of an optical fiber cable accurately and stably without requiring skilled labor and having a superior on-site installation property. An optical connector is provided with a splicing section for securely supporting an incorporated optical fiber securely supported at a ferrule and an optical fiber of an outside optical fiber cable in an end-abutting condition. The body of the optical connector is provided with a cable holding member able to hold an optical fiber cable. The cable holding member can be set at a temporary position where it makes an optical fiber of the optical fiber cable abut against the incorporated optical fiber at the splicing section in the state holding the optical fiber cable and bends a covered optical fiber of the optical fiber cable between the splicing section and the cable holding member by a pressing force in the lengthwise direction.

Optical connector and optical fiber connecting system

An angle type optical connector enables a splicing operation of an optical fiber cable accurately and stably without requiring skilled labor and having a superior on-site installation property. An optical connector is provided with a splicing section for securely supporting an incorporated optical fiber securely supported at a ferrule and an optical fiber of an outside optical fiber cable in an end-abutting condition. The body of the optical connector is provided with a cable holding member able to hold an optical fiber cable. The cable holding member can be set at a temporary position where it makes an optical fiber of the optical fiber cable abut against the incorporated optical fiber at the splicing section in the state holding the optical fiber cable and bends a covered optical fiber of the optical fiber cable between the splicing section and the cable holding member by a pressing force in the lengthwise direction.

An optical fiber splicing and gripping device includes a material having first and second members hingedly attached. A gripping region is formed in the material that includes first and second gripping portions disposed on first and second inner portions of each of the members. The material further includes separate first and second clamping zones along a length of the gripping region. The optical fiber splicing and gripping device further includes a cap engageable with the material to selectively actuate the first clamping zone independently of actuating the second clamping zone.

Fiber splicing and gripping device

A plug-type optical connectoris provided with a ferruleand an aligning sleeve member. The aligning sleeve memberreceives a portion of the ferruleincluding an abutting end faceinside a boreto prevent staining and damage and uses a movable shutterto prevent light emitted through the ferrulefrom leaking to the outside. The socket type optical connectoris provided with a ferruleand a holding section. The optical connectoris not provided with an aligning sleeve member and further can hold a coated optical fiber by a holding sectionbehind the ferruleby a radius of curvature of at least a prescribed minimum radius of curvature. Optical loss in the coated optical fiber can be reduced while effectively reducing the external dimensions in the direction of extension of the ferruleat the time of use. An optical fiber connecting device that includes a combination of a pair of optical connectors is also provided to be suitably applied to an optical transmission line laid indoors.

An optical fiber connecting device has a pair of holding elements which are formed on an actuating member and are capable of undergoing elastic deformation as a sheath holding mechanism for securing, to a body, the sheath portions S of the optical fibers F having uncoated fiber elements C to be held by the fiber-element securing member. The holding elements form a pair of passages for guiding the optical fibers F on the body. The holding elements undergo the elastic deformation accompanying the motion, on the body, of the actuating member for closing the fiber-element securing member, and push and hold the sheath portions S of the optical fibers F in the corresponding passages by utilizing their own elastic restoring forces. Each holding element includes a pressing part formed at a free end separated away from a fixed end part, and an engaging part positioned between the fixed end part and the pressing part.

Optical fiber connecting device

An optical fiber splicing member can hold optical fiber buffer coatings stably in a simple structure as compared with conventional art and enables use of an existing splicing tool. There are provided a joint element, a jacket, buffer retainersand a cap. By setting and pressing the cap to the jacket, it becomes possible to splice bare fibers of optical fiberswith each other by the joint element and to press the buffer coatingsby the buffer retainers. Assembling the splicing member is thus facilitated while the existing optical fiber splicing tool is utilizable as it is. The buffer coatings can be held stably because the holding is achieved through the pressing.

Optical fiber mechanical splice with strain relief mechanism

A fiber recoating process and a recoated optical fiber formed by the process that comprises the steps of providing an optical fiber having a coating and cutting a first cut boundary spaced from a secondary cut boundary to mark an internal section of the coating that has opposing sides. Removal of the coating from at least one of the opposing sides provides a pared intervening layer and further forms a first transition region opposite a second transition region. Each of the first transition region and the second transition region has a substantially wedge-shaped contour. Solvent treatment of the pared intervening layer weakens the bond between the coating and the optical fiber between the first cut boundary and the second cut boundary before displacing the coating from the optical fiber to provide the stripped optical fiber. The stripped optical fiber includes a section of optical fiber, the first transition region and the second transition region. After applying recoating material, the stripped optical fiber becomes the recoated optical fiber in which the recoating material covers the section of optical fiber, the first transition region and the second transition region.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Akihiko Yazaki