Teijin Seiki Co., Ltd.

Masahiro Kanbara

Masayuki Togawa

Morio Kobayashi

Tsutomu Takahashi

Minoru Takeda

Yoshinori Oonuma

Junichirou Asano

The invention is to offer an optical device which is capable of reducing the insertion loss comparing with a conventional one. The optical switch comprises a fiber collimator for input an light beam, a fiber collimator for output the light beam to the outside, an optical path switching element, an optical path switching element as well as a slider arranged in the optical paths between the fiber collimator and the fiber collimator to change the light path and the optical characteristics, a solenoid actuator for moving the slider, a guide mechanism for guiding the slider as the slider moves, a magnet for generating a magnetic field, the magnet being arranged at a position where the slider is pressed against the guide mechanism by means of a magnetic force of a magnetic field generated by the magnet.

Optical device

The disclosed herein is a novel and less expensive optical path switching apparatus for switching at least one input optical path selectively into at least one output optical path which comprises; switching means for switching the input optical path selectively into the output optical path which has at least one switching optical path to permit a light beam to pass thereon, inputting means for inputting at least one light beam to the switching means, and outputting means for outputting at least one light beam from the switching means, the switching means being essentially consisting of (i) a housing, (ii) at least one switching element having a first reflection surface to reflect the light beam inputted from each of input optical paths and a second reflection surface to reflect the light beam reflected from the first reflection surface toward the output optical path of the outputting means, and a reflection space formed between the first and second reflection surfaces of a switching element body, and (iii) at least one actuation element to actuate the optical path switching element for assuming two different positions including, a first position in which the input optical path of the inputting means is switched to the output optical path and a second position in which the input optical path is not switched to the output optical path of the outputting means.

Optical path switching apparatus

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Kanagawa, Japan

Masahiro Kanbara