Light beam coupler for axially discoincident optical fibers

A light-beam coupler for optical fibers, comprising a cluster of plural like elongate lighttransmission bodies about a central optical axis, said bodies each having an elongate flat side fitted to a corresponding adjacent flat side of another body, the fit of said sides establishing a plane which includes said optical axis, each body having an elongate generally central axis parallel to said optical axis and about which central axis the refractive index decreases approximately proportional to the square of the distance from said central axis, and each of said bodies being adapted to magnify the diameter and to limit axial deviation of a light beam entering at one axial end;

• a separate optical fiber coupled to each body at one end of said group, a single optical fiber having an end on said optical axis in spaced relation to and facing the other end of said group, and an optical lens interposed between said group and said single optical fiber with said end of said single optical fiber near the focal plane of said lens.

A light-beam coupler for optical fibers, comprising a cluster of like elongate light-transmission bodies, each having an elongate body axis about which the refractive index decreases approximately proportional to the square of the distance from said axis, and each of said bodies being adapted to magnify the diameter and to limit axial deviation of a light beam entering at one axial end;

• said bodies being arranged in said cluster with said body axes in substantially parallel and closely spaced relation, a separate optical fiber coupled to each of a plurality of bodies at one end of said cluster, a single optical fiber having an end of an optical axis aligned with the elongation of said cluster, said end of said single optical fiber being in spaced relation to and facing the other end of said cluster, and an optical lens interposed between said cluster and said single optical fiber with said end of said single optical fiber near the focal plane of said lens.

A light-beam coupler for optical fibers, comprising a cluster of like elongate light-transmission bodies, each having an elongate body axis about which the refractive index decreases approximately proportional to the square of the distance from said axis, and each of said bodies being adapted to magnify the diameter and to limit axial deviation of a light beam entering at one axial end;

• said bodies being arranged in said cluster with said body axes in substantially parallel and closely spaced relation, a separate optical fiber coupled to each of a plurality of bodies at one end of said cluster, a single optical fiber having an end to be coupled to light from said cluster, and optical means including a lens mounted to receive light from the other end of said cluster and to focus the same at said end of said single optical fiber.