3m Innovative Properties Company

Corning Research & Development Corporation

Edward B Lurie

Harry A Loder

Larry R Cox

Curtis L Shoemaker

Richard L Simmons

Victor Julian Borer

Kenneth L Kornele

Zachary Michael Thompson

Brian M Cole

Lizhang Yang

Donald Kent Larson

James R Bylander

William George Allen

David S Hardcastle

Eric M Morgan

Jonathan V Haggar

Gordon Wiegand

Joseph Christopher Sawicki

Mark D Matthies

Jameson Rensloe Wright

David Gonzalez

Joseph M Van Allen

Janet A Kling

Lindsey K Lewallen

Marion A Casserberg

Albert De Los Santos

Donald Allen Zielinski, Jr

Viktor Heinz

Donald Allen Zielinski Jr

Ronald P Pepin

Daniel H Henderson

A fiber optic connector comprises a connector body, a ferrule, and a boot. The ferrule has a rear portion supported within the connector body and a front portion extending beyond a front end of the connector body. The boot has a front portion within the connector body and a funnel-shaped portion that extends beyond a back end of the connector body. The funnel-shaped portion defines a boot back end. Additionally, the funnel-shaped portion includes a tapered passage on an interior of the boot and a lip on an exterior of the boot. The tapered passage and the lip are curved toward each other proximate the boot back end so that the funnel-shaped portion terminates with a rounded configuration.

Fiber optic connectors with funnel-shaped boots and methods of installing the same

An assembly tool for terminating an optical fiber with an optical fiber connector comprises a base having a connector cradle to hold said connector, a buffer clamp activation shuttle slideably disposed on the base to push a sleeve over a buffer clamp of the connector, and an activation mechanism pivotally mounted to the base. The activation mechanism includes an actuation lever to press a securing cap over a mechanical element in the connector, and a drive shaft coupled to the actuation lever. Moving the actuation lever from a first position to a second position activates the buffer clamp activation shuttle and presses the securing cap over the mechanical element.

Assembly tool and optical fiber connector assembly method

A cable assembly is described that includes a preterminated optical fiber drop cable having a connector body mounted on a terminal end thereof, and a removable installation device attached to a jacket of the preterminated optical fiber drop cable by an attachment portion, wherein the attachment portion includes a pair of tear tabs that provides tool-less removal of the installation device from the preterminated optical fiber drop cable.

Cable assembly with a removable installation device

A polishing apparatus is provided for polishing an optical fiber connector. The optical fiber connector includes a connector housing and a ferrule. The polishing apparatus includes a mount to receive and hold the optical connector and a base to support the mount. The base further includes a dispenser portion. The polishing apparatus further includes a polishing strip dispensable by the dispensing portion of the base. The polishing strip has a portion thereof extending through a passageway formed in the mount, where a first surface of the polishing strip is disposed proximate to an end face of the ferrule of the optical connector disposed in the mount. In an exemplary aspect, the polishing strip comprises one or more polishing media disposed on a backing material.

Optical fiber polishing apparatus and method

A load adapter and method for terminating an optical fiber in a small form factor connector having a ferrule portion and a barrel portion that include a pre-loaded thermoplastic adhesive material, and a housing. The load adapter includes a thermally conductive body having a base section and a connector mounting section extending axially therefrom. The base section is adapted to be inserted/placed in an oven port of a portable heat source. The connector mounting section has a substantially cylindrical shape adapted to surround a substantial portion of the small form factor connector housing and includes at least one slot. The connector mounting section includes a mount adapted to receive the small form factor connector. The mount includes a stem having a substantially cylindrical structure adapted to slidably receive the ferrule portion of the small form factor connector, where an end of a received ferrule portion of the small form factor connector extends beyond an edge of an inner wall of the stem. An optical fiber is inserted through the connector housing and ferrule portion such that an end of the optical fiber extends beyond the end of the ferrule portion. The load adapter can then be removed from the heat source, cooled, and the end of the optical fiber can be polished. The load adapter and method can thus provide for practical field termination of an optical fiber in a small form factor fiber connector.

Field termination apparatus and method for small form factor optical connectors with thermoplastic adhesive

A device is provided for manipulating a load adapter for terminating an optical fiber in a connector having a ferrule portion and a barrel portion that can include a pre-loaded thermoplastic or thermoset adhesive material. The device comprises a body having a handle, a first arm extending from the handle, and a second arm extending from the handle. The first arm includes a first gripping portion adapted to grip a portion of the load adapter. The second arm includes a second gripping portion that is adapted to grip a portion of an optical fiber cable and that is axially displaced from the first gripping portion by a predetermined distance. At least one of the first and second arms is movable relative to the other arm. A method of terminating an optical fiber in a connector having a ferrule portion and a barrel portion that include a pre-loaded thermoplastic adhesive material is also provided. The moveable second gripping portion can provide fiber cable retention and axial strain relief for various diameters of optical fiber cable during the field termination process. Further, the movable arm(s) allow(s) for unobstructed insertion of the optical fiber into the connector.

Device for holding field termination load adapter for optical connectors

A optical connector for terminating an optical fiber comprises a housing configured to mate with an LC receptacle. The housing comprises a polymer material that does not deform when exposed to temperatures of at least 210&#xb0; C. The optical connector further includes a ferrule assembly. The ferrule assembly includes a ferrule portion and a barrel portion. The ferrule assembly is preloaded with a thermoplastic adhesive material. The thermoplastic material can be a polyamide-based hot melt adhesive. The thermoplastic mater can be an ultra high temperature hot melt adhesive. These optical connectors can be terminated in the field in a short amount of time.

Small form factor optical connector with thermoplastic adhesive

This invention relates to a ferrule for use in a fiber optic connector. The ferrule has front and rear faces and comprises (a) a passage being disposed inside the ferrule and having first and second ends, the passage having dimensions defined by the following formulas:()&#x2266;&#x2266;( where 'W' is the passage width, 'H' is the passage height, &#x201c;X&#x201d; is the measured with of a fiber optic ribbon, &#x201c;n&#x201d; is the number of fiber optic ribbons and n&#x3e;1, &#x201c;a&#x201d; is the fiber optic ribbon thickness and &#x201c;b&#x201d; is the fiber pitch on a (b) a plurality of tapered channels disposed between the second end of the passage to said front face of the ferrule.

Ferrule for use in fiber optic connectors

The present invention relates to a fiber optic cable assembly including a connector subassembly having a fiber optic cable terminated in a connector, the fiber optic cable having a minimum bend radius; and a strain relief boot attached to the connector subassembly, the strain relief boot having a core portion, a flexible extension with a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end extending from the core portion. The flexible extension retains at least a portion of the fiber optic cable.

Strain relief boot with flexible extension for guiding fiber optic cable

The invention provides an apparatus for guiding at least one fiber optic ribbons into a ferule. The ferrule has front and rear faces, a longitudinal axis and at least one guide pin channel disposed parallel to the longitudinal axis. The apparatus comprises: (a) a cover; and (b) a base having first and second surfaces and comprising (i) a channel spanning from the first to the second surface, the channel being defined by a Cartesian coordinate system x, y, and z and having an x-dimension that coincides with the width of the fiber optic ribbon, and (ii) means for aligning said apparatus with said ferrule. When the cover is disposed on the base, a pocket is formed between the cover and the base. The height of the pocket coincides with the cumulative thickness of the number of fiber optic ribbons used.

Apparatus useful for guiding fiber optic ribbons into ferrules

A three dimensional optical circuit featuring an optical manifold for organizing, guiding and protecting individual optical fibers is shown. One aspect of the present invention is a three dimensional manifold which may be constructed using a rapid prototyping process such as, but not limited to, stereolithography ('SLA'), fused deposition modeling ('FDM'), selective laser sintering (&#x201c;SLS&#x201d;), and the like. The manifold has a number of input openings in a first ordered arrangement at one end connected by passageways to a number of output openings in a second ordered arrangement at the opposite end. A plurality of optical fibers may be directed through the passageways of the manifold to produce a three dimensional optical circuit such as a shuffle. Moreover, the optical manifold may be used in conjunction with a number of connections or terminations to form a various optical modules. These modules may be configured for rack mounting within enclosures for electrical components.

Three dimensional optical circuits

A three dimensional optical circuit featuring an optical manifold for organizing, guiding and protecting individual optical fibers is shown. One aspect of the present invention is a three dimensional manifold which may be constructed using a rapid prototyping process such as, but not limited to, stereolithography (&ldquo;SLA&rdquo;), fused deposition modeling (&ldquo;FDM&rdquo;), selective laser sintering (&ldquo;SLS&rdquo;), and the like. The manifold has a number of input openings in a first ordered arrangement at one end connected by passageways to a number of output openings in a second ordered arrangement at the opposite end. A plurality of optical fibers may be directed through the passageways of the manifold to produce a three dimensional optical circuit such as a shuffle. Moreover, the optical manifold may be used in conjunction with a number of connections or terminations to form a various optical modules. These modules may be configured for various in-line applications and may include protective housings or enclosures of metal or the like.

In-line shuffle modules utilizing three dimensional optical circuits

A three dimensional optical circuit featuring an optical manifold for organizing, guiding and protecting individual optical fibers is shown. One aspect of the present invention is a three dimensional manifold which may be constructed using a rapid prototyping process such as, but not limited to, stereolithography (&ldquo;SLA&rdquo;), fused deposition modeling (&ldquo;FDM&rdquo;), selective laser sintering (&ldquo;SLS&rdquo;), and the like. The manifold has a number of input openings in a first ordered arrangement at one end connected by passageways to a number of output openings in a second ordered arrangement at the opposite end. A plurality of optical fibers may be directed through the passageways of the manifold to produce a three dimensional optical circuit such as a shuffle. Moreover, the optical manifold may be used in conjunction with a number of connections or terminations to form a various optical modules. These modules may be configured for rack mounting within enclosures for electrical components.

Three dimensional optical circuit

A method of making a three dimensional optical circuit featuring an optical manifold for organizing, guiding and protecting individual optical fibers is provided. One aspect of the present invention is a three dimensional manifold which may be constructed using a rapid prototyping process such as, but not limited to, stereolithography (&ldquo;SLA&rdquo;), fused deposition modeling (&ldquo;FDM&rdquo;), selective laser sintering (&ldquo;SLS&rdquo;), and the like. The manifold has a number of input openings in a first ordered arrangement at one end connected by passageways to a number of output openings in a second ordered arrangement at the opposite end. A plurality of optical fibers may be directed through the passageways of the manifold to produce a three dimensional optical circuit such as a shuffle.

Growing community of inventors

Round Rock, TX, United States of America

Edward B Lurie