Perforated sleeve connector
AssigneeOudensha Co., Ltd.
InventorsEiji Watanabe, Kenji Nakamura
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A cylindrical sleeve connector for mounting ferrules retaining optical fibers therein is formed with a plurality of perforations arranged in a given pattern so as to be elastically deformable within in a specified elastic region. The sleeve connector is produced, using electroforming process, on a cylindrical electroforming mandrel comprising a conductive rod with external surface texture that is equivalent to required internal surface texture of the sleeve connector and a non-conductive layer formed on the conductive rod so as to provide non-conductive segments identical in configuration with the perforations and arranged in conformity with the given pattern of perforations of the cylindrical sleeve connector.
Claims8
A sleeve connector for mounting ferrules retaining optical fibers therein;
- said sleeve connector being produced on an electroforming mandrel formed with a given pattern of non-conductive layer using an electroforming process, said sleeve connector comprising:
- a cylindrical hollow metal tube having an internal diameter and an internal surface texture transferred from said electroforming mandrel;
- and
- a plurality of perforations formed in conformity with said given pattern of non-conductive layer in said cylindrical hollow metal tube so as to provide said sleeve connector with elastic deformability in all-round radial directions in a specified elastic region.
An electroforming process of producing a sleeve connector with a plurality of perforations formed in a given pattern so as to provide the sleeve connector with desired elastic deformability for mounting ferrules retaining optical fibers therein, said process comprising the steps of:
- providing an electroforming mandrel made up from a conductive rod with an external surface texture and an external diameter required for an internal surface of the sleeve connector;
- forming a non-conductive layer on said electroforming mandrel so as to provide non-conductive segments identical in configuration with said perforations of said sleeve connector and arranged in conformity with said given pattern of perforations of said sleeve connector;
- electrodepositing a specified thickness of electroformed metal layer on said electroforming mandrel by an electroforming process;
- and
- removing said electroformed metal layer together with said non-conductive layer from said electroforming mandrel, thereby providing a metal tube as said sleeve connector having an internal surface texture and an internal diameter transferred from said electroforming mandrel and elastic deformability in a specified elastic region.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.