Lucent Technologies Inc.

American Telephone & Telegraph Co., At&t Bell Laboratories

At+t Corp.

At&t Bell Laboratories

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Arthur Wallace Carlisle

Jeffrey H Hicks

Norman Roger Lampert

Bruce V Darden

John Louis Siereveld

Thomas C Cannon, Jr

Clyde J Myers

Gary J Grimes

Charles J Sherman

Jerry Max Anderson

Dean R Frey

William A Vicory

Williard C White, Iii

Wayne D Granger

A ferrule used in an optical connector includes a cavity at one end that contains a malleable disk insert. A cylindrical bore extends through the insert and supports an optical fiber. The insert is deformed after the fiber is installed in the bore so that the insert firmly grips the fiber and the walls of the cavity without adhesives. As a result, relative movement between the fiber and the ferrule is prevented despite the expansion and contraction that occur due to temperature variations.

Optical ferrule and method for installing fiber without adhesives

Quick connect fiber optic connector having a deformable barrel

An optical connector includes a slug made from a malleable material and positioned behind a ferrule within a barrel member. The slug includes a capillary hole along its longitudinal axis for accommodating an optical fiber. One or more pins extend outwardly from the barrel and are generally orthogonal to the longitudinal axis. The pins provide several functions in the optical connector, including securing the slug within the barrel member, securing the optical fiber within the slug, and securing the barrel to a connector housing that includes a latch.

Quick-connect fiber optic connector

An optical fiber connector for use with plastic optical fibers includes a housing having a longitudinal bore forming a flat end wall adjacent the fiber entrance end. A graduated coil spring member is seated against the wall and retained within the bore. The spring has a first, compression generating section, a second section of lesser diameter for grasping and holding the jacket of a jacketed plastic optic fiber, and a third section that locates and guides the bare fiber to the interface end of the coupler.

Optical fiber connector

An optical fiber connector assembly has a connector having a bore having a cable receiving end and a reentrant interface end forming a fiber holder. Jacketed plastic optical fiber is affixed within the bore and unjacketed fiber is contained in the fiber holder. A latching arm has latch means for engaging a shoulder in an adapter, and camming lobes on the latching arm engage sloping ramps in the adapter to impart a bias force to move the connector toward the interface end.

Optical fiber connector assembly

An optical fiber connector assembly has a connector having a bore having a cable receiving end and a reentrant interface and forming a fiber holder. A latching arm has latch means for engaging a shoulder in a adapter, and camming lobes on the latching arm engage sloping ramps in the adapter to impart a bias force to move the connector toward the interface end. A bias force augmenting member is included for insuring reliable connections over extended periods of time. The augmenting member is a resilient member whose elastic force is added to the biasing force produced by the camming lobes.

Optical fiber connector with auxiliary spring

An optical fiber connector is disclosed for terminating an optical cable which has a plastic core and a surrounding jacket. The connector includes a body member which has a central bore extending therethrough within which is a longitudinally extending internally threaded portion dimensioned to grip the plastic jacket when the cable is screwed into the body member. The bore has a tapered section extending from the threaded portion to a cable entrant end of the body to facilitate insertion of an optical cable into the body.

Optical fiber connector with cable anchoring means

An optical connector is disclosed for terminating an optical cable 10 comprising a plastic optical fiber 11 surrounded by a protective jacket 12. The connector includes a housing having an exterior latch 201 that secures it to an adapter 31. The latch is constructed as a cantilever with its fixed end positioned toward a front end of the housing. The connector further includes a cable-holding structure that attaches to the jacket of the optical cable in such a manner that the plastic optical fiber 11 connects to an associated optical device without the use of a ferrule. One cable-holding structure includes a guide tube 45 that is made from metal and is pressed, or insert molded, into the back end of one plastic housing 40. A portion of the guide tube protrudes from the back end of the housing and is crimped onto the optical cable. Here, the optical cable is immovably attached to the housing. Another cable-holding structure includes an extender cap 21, a spring 60, and a guide tube 15 having an enlarged diameter at one end 16. The spring surrounds the tube and presses against its enlarged end. The spring also presses against an interior surface of the extender cap, which inserts into the back end of another plastic housing 22. Here, the optical cable is movably attached to the housing.

Connector for plastic optical fiber

An optical fiber connector includes a wedge for gripping one or more buffered optical fibers. The wedge comprises a body portion having an opening that extends through it from one end to the other through a longitudinal axis of the wedge for receiving the pair of optical fibers contained within a cable. The wedge further includes a pair of flexible cantilevers that extend from one end of the body portion along a direction that is parallel to the longitudinal axis. Each cantilever includes an inner surface that faces the inner surface of the other cantilever, and each inner surface includes an like number of grooves that are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the wedge. The grooves grip the pair of buffered optical fibers when compressed by crimping a surrounding bushing, and thereby restrain the optical fibers from being pulled back into the cable during handling. The cantilevers are symmetrically positioned on opposite sides of a plane which contains the longitudinal axis of the wedge.

Force transfer system for an optical fiber connector

An optical fiber connector (20) includes two plug assemblies (37--37) each including a cylindrically shaped plug (40) extending from within a cap (70). An end of each cap is adapted to be secured to a coupling housing (92) to cause the plug which extends from the cap to be received in a sleeve (105) disposed in the housing. An optical fiber cable (22) extends through a cable entrance end of the cap and has an end portion of its optical fiber terminated by theplug. An extender(85) of the cap is secured thereto and extends along the cable a distance to a location where portions (91--91) thereof are closely adjacent to the cable. Bending forces applied to the cable are transferred at the location to the extender and then to the cap. This avoids the transfer of those forces to the plug which otherwise could cause the plug to turn pivotally about an interior lip of the cap and result in an optical disconnection of the plug from the other plug in the sleeve.

A duplex optical fiber connector (20) includes a housing (21) having a cable entrance end and a plug end. At the cable entrance end, an optical fiber cable (23) which includes two individually buffered optical fibers (25--25), strength member yarn (29) and a plastic jacket is routed into a flanged end of a bushing (45) having a tapered passageway therethrough. The bushing is supported in a base (22) of the housing. The jacket is removed from the portion of the cable which extends from the cable entrance end to the plug end and the yarn is positioned between two conformable, truncated conically shaped, substantially smooth surfaces which define the passageway of the bushing and a truncated conically shaped wedge (50) which is received in the passageway. The wedge includes a bore through which the optical fibers extend. This locking arrangement in which the yarn makes no retroflexed turns is self-enhancing when tensile forces are applied to the cable. At the plug end are secured two plugs (70--70) each terminating one of the optical fibers. Each plug is spring-loaded and further, end portions of the plugs which protrude beyond the connector housing are protected by a bumper (90) which also is spring-loaded and which is moved inwardly when the connector is assembled to another. A cover (52) is assembled to the base to complete the housing and to secure the force-transfer facilities and plugs therein.

Duplex optical fiber connector

An optical fiber connector comprising a fiber terminus piece with a longitudinal bore through which a bare fiber is inserted. The fiber terminus piece with an appropriately prepared fiber therein is held coaxially aligned with a mating terminus piece. The fiber terminus piece comprises, on its mating face, a 'pedestal,' typically having truncated-cone shape, extending outwardly from the plane of the face, with the fiber terminating within the face of the pedestal, whereby the area of potential contact between the mating terminus pieces is substantially reduced. The pedestal material advantageously is somewhat compliant, of compressive modulus between about 10.sup.4 and 10.sup.6 psi at 25.degree. C., preferably between about 10.sup.5 and 5.10.sup.5 psi. The novel geometry results in improved performance, as compared to prior art connectors having flat mating faces. Disclosed are also connectors comprising advantageous means for transferring axial loads from a cable strength member to the connector body.

Optical fiber connector and article comprising same

A family of connectors is described for splicing, half-tapping, bridging and terminating multiple insulated wires. The connectors are particularly suitable to telephone central office applications requiring limited numbers of conductor reconnections. The basic connector consists of a mandrel around which the wires of a wire group are looped, a mandrel holder which retains the wires in loop-around configuration; and a contact module containing double-ended split beam contacts. Physical connection between wires mounted on two mandrels is made by inserting the mandrels into respective holders; and then mounting the two resulting assemblies on respective sides of a contact module. Advantageously, each mandrel holder may be double-sided to receive two mandrels. Correspondingly, the contact module may be designed to mount double-sided mandrel holders. A stack consisting of mandrels in their holders alternating between contact modules can provide for multiple appearances of wires in a given wire set.

Growing community of inventors

Dunwoody, GA, United States of America

Arthur Wallace Carlisle