The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 27, 1992
Filed:
Aug. 29, 1991
James B Carpenter, Austin, TX (US);
Haregoppa S Gopalakrishna, Woodbury, MN (US);
Donald K Larson, Cedar Park, TX (US);
Richard A Patterson, Georgetown, TX (US);
Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company, St. Paul, MN (US);
Abstract
An optical fiber splice element comprising a sheet of ductile material having a novel focus hinge defining first and second legs, each of the legs having a V-groove therein for receiving the optical fibers. The focus hinge, comprising a groove on one side of the sheet, a notch on the other side of the sheet aligned with the groove, and a convex hinge web, provides precise registration of the V-grooves when the sheet is folded; this in turn leads to improved alignment of the fibers. The V-grooves also have a novel angular geometry which optimizes the clamping forces, resulting in lower insertion loss. The interior angle of the V-grooves is smaller than the optimum angle whereby, when the fiber is clamped and portions of the V-groove surfaces are deformed, the V-groove has an effective angle which is approximately equal to the optimum angle.