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:
Aug. 29, 1995
Filed:
May. 05, 1994
Glenn S Baker, Studio City, CA (US);
David D Chang, Encino, CA (US);
Fred P Paulino, Westminster, CA (US);
Cogent Light Technologies, Inc., Santa Clara, CA (US);
Abstract
The present invention provides a fiber optic connector having a shielding apparatus for protecting the exposed end of a fiber optic. The shielding apparatus of the connector generally comprises a cylindrical housing, a collet, and a protective sleeve. The cylindrical housing comprises first and second ends and a through-hole for reception of a fiber optic having a fiber optic end protruding from the first end of the cylindrical housing. The collet comprises a tubular body with first and second ends and a through-hole passing between the ends for movable reception of the cylindrical housing, with the second end of the tubular body being split to form a plurality of prongs arranged coaxially with the through-hole of the collet. The tubular body also comprises an inner surface with an inner flange disposed proximate to the second end of the collet for contacting the second end of the cylindrical housing and an outer surface with first and second opposing shoulders defining a recess in the outer surface of the collet. The protective sleeve comprises first and second ends, a through-hole passing between the ends for movable reception of the collet and an inner surface having an inner flange for disposition within the recess of the outer surface of the collet. With this arrangement, the shielding apparatus can be placed in an unprotected mode to expose the fiber optic end when the sleeve and cylindrical housing are moved towards the first and second ends of the collet, respectively, or it can be placed in a protected mode to shield the fiber optic end when the sleeve and cylindrical housing are moved towards the second and first ends of the collet, respectively.