US 4,907,852 AGranted

Optical fiber connector and method for producing the same

AssigneeTokai Rubber Industries, Ltd.

InventorsKunihiro Noba, Yukio Sakuraba, Katsuyoshi Urano

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A connector having a body and a connecting portion is molded within a mold in which an end portion of an optical fiber is fixedly positioned. The end portion of the optical fiber consists of an exposed end portion of a core of the fiber and a terminal portion of a sheath of the fiber adjacent to the exposed end portion of the core. A molten mass of a selected synthetic material is injected into the mold at a metal flow rate of 5 g/min, whereby the connector is molded integrally with the end portion of the optical fiber, such that the exposed end portion of the core is bonded to the connecting portion, while the terminal portion of the sheath is bonded to the body of the connector. The mold is maintained at a temperature not higher than the softening point of the optical fiber, and the molten resin mass is maintained at a temperature which is higher than the solftening point but is not higher than a temperature 150.degree. C. higher than the softening point.

Claims7

Dependent claims

An optical fiber connector assembly for optically connecting end to end a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber, each of said optical fiber having a core and a sheath covering said core, said assembly comprising:

an end portion of said first optical fiber, said end portion consisting of an exposed portion of said core which is exposed at one end of said first optical fiber by removal of a corresponding part of said sheath, and a terminal portion of said sheath adjacent to said exposed portion of the core;
and
a connector integrally formed of a synthetic resin in bonded relation with an outer circumferential surface of said end portion of said first optical fiber, said connector including a body portion in which said terminal portion of said sheath is fixedly accommodated, and a connecting portion which integrally extends from said body portion and in which said exposed portion of said core is fixedly accommodated in coaxial relation with said connecting portion, an extreme end of said exposed portion of said core being exposed at an end of said connecting portion, for optical connection with an extreme end of said second optical fiber.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 07/303,893Filed 30 Jan 1989
Priority: JP 63-263795 Feb 1988
Granted: 13 Mar 1990
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification7 codes

B29C 70/76
Moulding material on a relatively small portion of the preformed part, e.g. outsert moulding: moulding on edges or extremities of the preformed part
B29C 33/123
With incorporated means for positioning inserts, e.g. labels: for centering the inserts
B29C 45/14549
Incorporating preformed parts or layers, e.g. injection moulding around inserts or for coating articles: coating rod-like, wire-like or belt-like…
G02B 6/3865
Details of mounting fibres in ferrules; Assembly methods; Manufacture: fabricated by using moulding techniques