Amphenol Corporation

Allied Corporation

John Henry Mikolaicyk

David O Gallusser

Gregory John Oleksik

David W MacAvoy

Leonard A Krantz

Heath Allen Johnson

Richard Lewis Barnes, Jr

Andrew Matzkin-Bridger

Gregory John Olesik

Walter L Feltman

A termination arrangement for fiber optic cables includes a precision ceramic guide press fit into a sleeve on both the socket and pin termini. The precision ceramic guide of the socket terminus is extended through a bushing and alignment sleeve, and a compression spring is positioned between the bushing and a stepped washer secured in the connector so that the bushing, sleeve, and precision ceramic guide may all be moved relative to the stepped washer upon insertion of the ceramic guide of the pin terminus into the alignment sleeve. The length of each terminus is chosen so that any grommet on an environmentally sealed connector will always fall on a portion of the body which has the same diameter for each terminus so that one grommet can be used with a variety of different size cables. A rear section of both the pin and socket terminus bodies are stepped down to provide an area for the strength member of the fiber optic cable to be terminated to. By applying epoxy to the stepped down diameter of the rear bodies and the fiber optic cable jacketing, the strength member can be evenly distributed over the rear of the bodies and a shrink tube can be brought up over the outer jacketing of the fiber optic cable to the appropriate position and shrunk down in order to cure the epoxy, captivate the strength member, and seal the shrink tube to the fiber optic cable jacketing. The sleeve may alternatively be extended through the stepped washer and terminate in a threaded portion onto which the bushing may be threaded, the precision ceramic guide being press fit into the bushing rather than the sleeve so as to minimize the length of the hole that must be produced in the precision ceramic guide.

Pin and socket fiber optic termini

An electrical connector includes a shell having a radially extending annular flange, a coupling nut, and an anti-decoupling arrangement. The anti-decoupling arrangement is made up of a flexible friction producing member which is captured in a compressed state to hold the coupling nut in place solely by virtue of the frictional engagement between the friction producing member and the coupling nut.

Anti-decoupling device

A front connector insert includes a removable front portion and a rear portion which is fixed in the connector. The rear portion retains the terminus of an optical fiber or electrical cable, with the removable front portion being removable to expose the terminus for cleaning or testing. The removable front portion includes a latching clip having a detent at one end which engages an indentation in the fixed portion of the insert when the removable portion of the insert is aligned with the fixed portion such that the clips align with grooves in the fixed insert. Removal of the removable portion of the insert is accomplished using a simple removal tool having an L-shaped extension which is inserted into a corresponding L-shaped recess in the front insert, the removal tool being rotated following insertion so that the removable insert can easily be removed from the connector to expose the optical fiber termini and contacts and permit testing or cleaning. In the case of an optical fiber connector, alignment sleeves and/or tubes may be captured within the removable front portion of the insert so as to prevent loss of the alignment tubes or sleeves upon removal of the removable insert from the connector.

Front removable insert

An alignment bushing (40) having a frusto-conical entranceway (44,46) at each of its opposite end faces (41,43) with each entranceway receiving a frusto-conical lens (30) terminted to an optical fiber cable (16,26), the bushing optically aligning and coupling an optical signal passed between a fiber in each with each lens having its focal point (31) coaxially rearward of a hemispherical nose portion of the lens and abutting the fiber end. The frusto-conical cross-section defining the entranceway and lens conform identically to assure coaxial seating.

Fiber optic connector assembly

This invention is a lens type fiber optic connector that has a lens holder assembly (70) releasably mounted (54, 78) within the bore of an insert (55). This arrangement provides for quick and easy installation, repair or replacement of a lens (10) or defective optical fiber (81) without the need to replace or disassemble the entire connector.

Growing community of inventors

Oneonta, NY, United States of America

John Henry Mikolaicyk