Lucent Technologies Inc.

At&t Bell Laboratories

Fitel USA Corporation

At+t Corp.

Bell Telephone Laboratories

Other

George J Shevchuk

Gary J Grimes

Lawrence J Haas

Anthony J Serafino

Richard J Coyle, Jr

Norman Roger Lampert

Muhammed Afzal Shahid

Thomas Dixon Dudderar

William Roger Lambert

Venkataram Reddy Raju

Byung Joon Han

Richard A Roll

Ivan Pawlenko

James Albert Walker

Yinon Degani

John David Weld

Nagesh R Basavanhally

John Burnette MacChesney

Yiu-Huen Wong

Robert William Filas

Jason A Kay

Paul Joseph Lemaire

Charles J Sherman

Jerry Max Anderson

Whitney Ryan White

Lloyd Shepherd

Thomas Edward Stockert

Anthony Robert Tancreto

Michael Gunnar Johnson

Thomas Francis Craft, Jr

Lee Landis Blyler, Jr

Donald David Shugard

Charles Joseph Aloisio

Wilton Wayt King

Keith V Guinn

Robert LeRoy Decker

William D Smith

Walter M Pitio

Philip J Hubbauer

Jeffrey Linn Bream

Robert M Kimball

Glenn D Bergland

Saul Joseph Einbinder

Alfonso J D'Alessio

Philip Habbauer

Claire H Plagianis

Robert C Pritchard

John V Camlet

George Knoedl

The invention relates to plastic optical fiber (POF) processes and systems and involves improved non-polishing termination techniques. The techniques provide good physical and optical characteristics, i.e., smoothness, at the termination point, thereby providing lower losses than conventionally obtained. According to one embodiment, POF is cut while the fiber is under compression. According to another embodiment, the POF is notched and then pulled at a relatively high strain rate to induce fracture. The rate is such that the strain remains in the elastic region, i.e., the fiber exhibits brittle, as opposed to ductile, behavior during the strain. The brittle behavior provides a smooth termination surface, as opposed to a plastically-deformed surface.

System comprising plastic optical fiber

A tube take-up apparatus is provided to handle a length of freshly extruded tube. The apparatus includes an elongated housing in which a pair of parallel, spaced-apart rollers extend lengthwise in a position just below the extruded tubing. The housing is removably mounted on an elongated supporting fin which is secured to the extruder at its near end, extends upwardly between the two rollers and substantially along the entire length of the housing, and is, in turn, supported on a fixed pedestal at its remote end. After the full length of tubing has been extruded, the housing and rollers as a unit are lifted with the tube from the supporting fin and replaced by an empty housing, to extrude the next tube, while the full housing is carried away to a dryer.

Apparatus and method for handling extruded tubes

An optical fiber connection device is disclosed that allows for in situ variable attenuation of a signal transmitted between two optical fibers. The connection device comprises an attenuator element fabricated with an inherently compliant, elastomeric material, preferably a silicone elastomer. The elastomeric properties of the attenuator element allow for varying the thickness of the attenuator element and thereby changing the level of attenuation in situ. Silicone elastomers are preferred for fabricating the attenuator element as applicants have discovered they may be index-matched to optical transmission fibers, have a high creep modulus, exhibit relatively constant mechanical properties over a broad range of temperatures, and are reliable upon exposure to varied environmental conditions.

Variable optical fiber attenuator device

An optical connector assembly includes a connector body having an inner wall defining a bore extending longitudinally through the connector body and shaped to receive an optical fiber. A fiber-retaining mechanism is disposed in the connector body for retention of the optical fiber received in the bore by frictionally engaging an outer circumferential surface of the optical fiber to thereby restrain unintended longitudinal displacement of the optical fiber relative to the bore.

Connector for plastic optical fibers

A connector for an optical fiber includes a fiber holder for positionally aligning and retaining the end of the optical fiber and a clamp for selectively clamping the optical fiber against movement in and relative to the connector. The connector is insertable into a coupler for optically coupling the optical fiber with another optical fiber held in the connector or with an optical device.

Connectors for plastic optical fiber

The conductive layers corresponding to a patch antenna are formed on a single substrate, as by printing a conductive ink. The substrate is in the form of an elongated, non-conductive, flexible sheet with the consecutive antenna layers printed thereon side-by-side. The layers of the antenna can then be brought into superposed alignment by appropriate folding of the sheet. The non-conductive rectangles can be maintained in spaced alignment to the cut-outs by placing a porous non-conductive block of spacing material therebetween. In a preferred embodiment the assembled structure has the various layers bonded together.

Patch antenna construction

An enclosure for electronic devices has a wall of a rigid plastic material, with elongated chambers defined therein. The chambers are filled with a material having a high thermal conductivity, or materials having high heat capacity, such as phase change material. Each chamber is located so that the material in the chamber is in thermal contact with the wall at a first location that tends to be at a relatively high temperature, and at a second location that tends to be at a lower temperature. The enclosure may alternatively have heat pipes of metal rather than chambers.

Enclosure for electronic components

A fragile device, such as an integrated circuit chip or a multichip assembly, is packaged by first dispensing a sol surrounding the sides of the device. The sol is laterally confined by means of a rim member typically made of a pre-molded plastic material. The amount of the sol dispensed is not sufficient to run over the top of the rim member. The sol is then heated to form a gel. If desired, a cover member can be put into place onto the top surface of the rim member, for the purpose of additional mechanical protection of the fragile device, for example.

Method of packaging fragile devices with a gel medium confined by a rim

A method of making a mold for a given object includes forming a wire stack of elongated wire elements and aligning first ends of the wire elements to define a first end surface of the stack, displacing selected wire elements with respect to the first end surface of the stack by determined amounts in the longitudinal direction of the elements according to a shape of the object to be molded, and then fixing the wire elements of the stack from movement relative to one another after the wire element displacing step. A mold surface for the given object is thus defined according to the first end surface of the wire stack.

Quick mold prototyping

A temperature compensating optical waveguide device including an optical fiber in which a grating formed of grating elements embedded within the fiber core reflects fiber-transmitted light within a range about a central wavelength that varies with temperature and with an axial strain applied to the grating. A top surface of a compensating member is affixed to a portion of the fiber that includes the grating and a tension adjusting member is connected to the compensating member. The tension adjusting member and the compensating member are formed of materials selected so that as the temperature of the device decreases, the tension adjusting member contracts more than the compensating member so as to control the deformation of the compensating member and thereby impose an axial strain on the grating. The controlled application of tensile stress to the optical fiber in the region of the grating causes changes in the central wavelength of reflected light to compensate for central wavelength variations resulting from changes in the grating temperature.

Fiber grating package

A mold assembly includes first and second housings having generally curved surfaces inside the mold cavity. The first housing has apertures extending therethrough. The second housing may have apertures, axially aligned with the apertures of the first housing, extending partially or completely therethrough. At least one guided, flexible, elongated rod member is configured for reception in the apertures of the first and second housings, the rod members being movable in a direction non-parallel to a direction of movement of the mold assembly with respect to the rod members. The mold-assembly is particularly useful for forming a molded body having a plurality of apertures, aligned in arbitrary non-parallel directions relative to one another, extending therethrough.

Mold assembly for forming apertures in a molded body

The bottom and side surfaces of an electronic device, such as an integrated circuit chip or a multichip assembly, are surrounded by a soft gel medium. The gel medium is laterally confined by a rigid plastic rim that is epoxy-bonded in place along its perimeter. A plate, made of plastic or metal, can be attached to the top surface of the rim, in order to provide a cover for the package.

Electronic device package enclosed by pliant medium laterally confined

A network interface device includes a weatherable enclosure having injection molded, die cast, or stamped top and bottom cap portions and a body portion which is extruded. The injection molded portions are fabricated from a polymer, such as polyvinyl chloride, with a higher melt index than the grade of polymer used to fabricate the body portion. The body portion has top and bottom openings adapted to receive the top and bottom cap portions. The network interface electrical components are enclosed within the housing.

Weatherable outside electronic device enclosure

A method and apparatus for manufacturing an optical connector subassembly provide an improved device at lower cost. The optical connector includes a plastic base member 150 which is overmolded onto a cylindrical ferrule 140 having an axial passageway 145 which extends from one end face 141 of the ferrule to the other 142. A mold 900 includes two parts 910, 960 which are joined together before heated and pressurized thermoplastic material is injected. The ferrule is held within a first channel 914 of the mold and a spring-loaded core pin 950 is held within a second channel 964 of the mold. These channels are coaxially aligned when the mold parts are joined together. The core pin includes a conical point 951 at one end which enters the axial passageway of the ferrule before the thermoplastic material is injected. A third channel 912, 962 receives the thermoplastic material and routes it into the first and second channels. Moreover, a brake 970 is applied to the core pin when thermoplastic material enters a fourth channel 913 so that the conical point will remain in contact with end face 141 of the ferrule during molding.

Method for manufacturing an optical connector assembly

The specification describes a molded plastic package for a surface normal optoelectronic device. The package is designed to passively align precisely the optoelectronic device with an optical fiber. Passive alignment is achieved by forming the optoelectronic device in a pyramid shape, and forming an identical pyramid shape in a mating molded plastic cover for the device. The mating pyramid shapes serve to center the optical fiber core precisely over the active optical region of the surface normal optoelectronic device.

Fiber waveguide package with improved alignment means

Growing community of inventors

Old Bridge, NJ, United States of America

George J Shevchuk