Optical terminus keying
AssigneeITT Manufacturing Enterprises, Inc.
InventorsJay Brian Betker, Terry Lee Adams
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An optical fiber connector in which a terminus assembly (20) can be keyed so it is always installed in a predetermined rotational position about the axis of a terminus-receiving passage (18) of a housing (12). When a terminus rotational position is found that results in minimal insertion loss, a noncircular index sleeve (40) is placed around the terminus body (24) and fixed thereto. An indexing plate (70) is installed in the connector housing, with indexing passage portions (72) that receive the index sleeve at only a single rotational position of the indexing sleeve about the passage axis.
Claims7
An optical fiber connector that includes a housing having a plurality of terminus-receiving passages that each has a passage axis, and an optical fiber terminus assembly that includes a terminus comprising a body and a ferrule, said terminus having a bore, and said optical fiber terminus assembly including an optic fiber cable with a stripped portion extending forwardly through said terminus bore and with said cable trailing rearwardly behind said terminus, said terminus lying in a first of said passages, including:
- an index sleeve with a noncircular periphery, said index sleeve extends around said terminus body and is fixed to said terminus body;
- a first of said terminus-receiving passages has an indexing passage portion with walls that closely receive said index sleeve;
- said index sleeve fits into said indexing passage portion in only one rotational position of said index sleeve around said passage axis.
An optical fiber connector that includes a housing having a plurality of passages that each have an axis, and a plurality of optical fiber terminus assemblies that each includes a terminus lying in one of said passages and comprising a body and a ferrule, and an optical fiber cable with a front stripped portion extending through the terminus, wherein:
- said housing includes outer and inner housing parts, said outer housing part comprising a shell with a blocking wall that separates the inside of the shell into front and rear cavities;
- said inner housing part having at least a front portion that is forwardly slideably into said rear cavity, said inner housing part having a plurality of inner housing bores;
- an indexing plate that lies trapped in said shell rear cavity between a front end of said inner housing part and said blocking wall, said indexing plate having a plurality of indexing bores each aligned with one of said inner housing bores to form at least part of one of said passage;
- each of said indexing bores is noncircular and nonsymmetric about the corresponding passage axis;
- said terminus bodies each includes a front portion that fits closely into a cylindrical hole;
- and including
- a plurality of index sleeves that each has a bore that closely receives one of said body front portions at any relative rotational position about said axis, and each of said index sleeves being fixed to one of said body front portions;
- each of said index sleeves has a noncircular outside surface that fits closely into one of said indexing bores at only one rotational position of the index sleeve about the passage axis.
A method for converting a connector that includes a housing having a plurality of closely spaced passages that each have an axis, and a plurality of optical fiber terminus assemblies that each includes a terminus lying in one of said passages, each terminus comprising a body and a ferrule, and each terminus assembly includes an optical fiber cable with a front stripped portion extending through the terminus, where each terminus can be fully inserted forwardly into a passage at any of multiple rotational orientations about said axis, the conversion enabling a first terminus to be fully inserted into a first passage only at a selected rotational orientation of the terminus about the passage axis, comprising:
- establishing a plurality of indexing bores in said housing in alignment with said passages, wherein each indexing bore is noncircular and not symmetric about said axis;
- fixing an index sleeve around each of said terminus bodies, wherein each index sleeve has a periphery that matches each of said indexing bores so an index sleeve can be slid into an indexing bore in only one rotational position of the sleeve about the passage axis.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.