Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Tsuneo Kanai

Shigefumi Hosokawa

Shigeru Umemura

Masao Kawachi

Akira Nagayama

Shuichiro Inagaki

Kunihiko Sasakura

Joji Yamaguchi

Mitsuhiro Makihara

Tetsufumi Shoji

Yasuhide Nishida

Kazumasa Kaneko

Yasuo Kumakura

Syuichirou Inagaki

Hirobumi Kimura

Naoyuki Tamaru

An optical fiber cross connection apparatus is provided for connecting and disconnecting input optical fibers to desired output optical fibers, each of the input optical fibers being equipped with a plug on a tip thereof. The optical fiber cross connection apparatus comprises an arrangement board installed approximately vertically, which has a plurality of alignment holes for releasably holding the plugs and for passing the input optical fibers therethrough, a connection board installed approximately vertically, on which a plurality of connection adapters are positioned to which the output optical fibers are connected and to which the plugs of the input optical fibers are connectable, a handling mechanism for drawing the input optical fibers from the arrangement board so that the input optical fibers are drawn through the alignment holes and for connecting the plugs thereof to desired connection adapters, a roll-up mechanism for paying out the input optical fibers when the fibers are drawn through the alignment holes by the handling mechanism, and traveling mechanisms for moving the handling mechanism and the roll-up mechanism to a desired position with respect to the connection board and the arrangement board.

Optical fiber cross connection apparatus and method

In an optical MDF (main distributing frame) for interconnecting external subscriber optical lines (122) with office optical lines (131) through jumpering operation, a matrix waveguide (128, 129, 130) having a plurality of crosspoints coupled with external lines and office lines is used. The matrix waveguide has a groove (235 in FIG. 4A) at each crosspoint so that said crosspoint is switched ON or OFF depending upon whether said groove is filled with matching oil or not, so that one of the external lines is connected to the selected office line. Said matching oil has the same refractive index as that of waveguides. Each crosspoint groove is coupled with a respective oil pool (236), which supplies matching oil which has essentially the same refractive index as that of a waveguide to said groove. Switching at a crosspoint is carried out in a manner that a light signal in a waveguide goes straight through the crosspoint when a groove is filled with matching oil, and the light signal changes its direction at the crosspoint through total internal reflection when the groove is empty. A jumpering operation to connect or disconnect a crosspoint is carried out by a robot (133), which fills or pulls out matching oil in the oil pool at the designated coordinates. Each external line is branched by using an optical directional coupler (237) for test purposes, and one of the branch lines subject to test is selected by using a similar 1.times.N type matrix waveguide. (FIG. 4A)

Automated optical main distributing frame system

A matrix switching device includes a matrix board and a connecting pin. X-conductor patterns are arranged in parallel with each other on one surface of the matrix board, and Y-conductor patterns are arranged in parallel with each other on the other surface. Both the patterns are arranged in a matrix form. At each crossing point of the both patterns, a through hole having conductive portions respectively connected to the X- and Y-conductor patterns and an intermediate isolation portion for interrupting conduction between the conductive portions is formed in the matrix board. The connecting pin includes conductive portions respectively electrically connected to the X- and Y-conductor patterns through the conductive portions of the through hole upon insertion of the connecting pin into the through hole.

Matrix switching device and method of manufacturing the same

Growing community of inventors

Tokorozawa, Japan

Tsuneo Kanai