Back to results
US 4,989,946 AGranted
Fiber optic switch
AssigneeAlcatel NA, Inc.
InventorsJoseph C. Williams, Sarah E. Goodman
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A fiber optic switch is formed using cylindrical or biconic fibers optic connector components for axially aligning pairs of fibers to be switched. The ferrules of the connector are rotatably mounted within an alignment sleeve, such that a pair of fibers in a first ferrule may be rotated relative to a pair of fibers mounted in a second ferrule to effect a bypass switch operation. Various forms of switch actuators, including rotary and linear actuators, are disclosed, along with fail-safe arrangements.
Claims17
A fiber optic switch comprising:
- first and second ferrules, each having a front surface and an aperture formed therethrough;
- at least one optical fiber mounted in said first ferrule along an axis offset from and parallel to an axis of the ferrule, said optical fiber terminating at a polished end surface disposed adjacent to said front surface;
- a plurality of optical fibers mounted in the second ferrule, each optical fiber being positioned along an axis, said axes being parallel to and offset from an axis of the ferrule, said optical fibers terminating at a polished end surface disposed adjacent said front surface of the second ferrule, the axes of all optical fibers in both ferrules being offset from the ferrule axes by the same distance;
- and
- means for rotatably mounting said ferrules for relative rotation with their front surfaces in juxtaposition and their axes aligned, so that one of said first and second ferrules may be rotated about its axis relative to the other ferrule, whereby the ferrules may be relatively rotated to selectively align and misalign the optical fibers mounted in said first and second ferrules.
2 more elements
A fiber optic switch, comprising:
- first and second ferrules, each having a front surface and an aperture formed therethrough;
- at least one optical fiber mounted in each ferrule along an axis offset from and parallel to an axis of the ferrule the axis of each optical fiber being offset from the ferrule axis by like distances, said optical fiber terminating at a polished end surface disposed adjacent said front surface;
- and
- means for rotatably mounting said ferrules for relative rotation with their front surfaces in juxtaposition and their axes aligned, so that the first ferrule can be rotated about its axis relative to the second ferrule, whereby the first ferrule may be rotated to selectively align or misalign the optical fibers mounted in said first and second ferrules.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.