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US 5,862,281 AGranted
Optical fiber connectors
AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorMuhammed Afzal Shahid
Life of this patent
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AssigneeLucent Technologies Inc.
InventorMuhammed Afzal Shahid
Estimating the term…
A connector for optical fibers comprises a rigid plug formed from material molded around end portions of the fibers and a pair of hollow tubes. All the fibers and tubes extend along parallel straight lines and all the tubes and fibers terminate in a common external surface of the plug. Alignment pins disposed within and extending outwardly from the tubes are used to align the plug with an optical component also aligned by the guide pins. A method of fabrication uses an alignment block for precisely relatively positioning first portions of the fibers and tubes, but with second portions of the fibers and tubes extending beyond an end of the block. The extending second portions of the fibers and tubes, but not the first portions thereof, are encapsulated within a molded plug which is then severed from the fiber and tube first portions for forming the plug common external surface.
A method of fabricating an optical fiber connector comprising the steps of disposing a first portion of an optical fiber within a first groove within an alignment block with a second portion of said fiber extending away from an end of said block, disposing a first portion of a hollow tube within a second groove within said alignment block with a second portion of said hollow tube extending away from said block end, rigidly encapsulating said second portions of said fiber and said tube within a plug, and severing said plug from said first portions of said fiber and tube.
A fixture for use in the fabrication of an optical fiber connector comprising an alignment block for precisely relatively positioning an optical fiber and a hollow tube, a mold for forming a mold space for receipt of respective portions of said fiber and said tube extending away from said alignment block and for receipt of a molding material for encapsulating said respective portions of said fiber and said tube, means for firmly securing said fiber and said tube to said alignment block for precisely relatively positioning said tube and fiber respective portions where they first enter said mold space, and means for isolating said mold space from said alignment block for preventing molding material injected into said mold space from contacting said alignment block.
An optical fiber connector comprising an array of optical fibers extending along parallel first lines intersecting an external surface of said plug, a pair of hollow tubes extending inwardly of said plug from said external surface along second lines parallel to said first lines and co-planar therewith, said external surface being planar and disposed at a preselected angle other than 90.degree. relative to said common plane of said first and second lines.
An optical fiber connector comprising a plug enclosing an optical fiber and an elongated first opening, said fiber extending along a line intersecting an external first surface of said plug and said fiber having an end face optically exposed at said external surface, said opening extending inwardly from said surface along an axis parallel to said line, and said opening having a non-circular cross-section.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.