Bulkhead adapter with optical fiber for signal attenuation

A fiber optic adapter comprising:

• a housing including a first end and a second end, and an optical pathway connecting the first end with the second end;
• a first sleeve having a first end and a second end, the first end of the first sleeve proximate the first end of the adapter, and a second sleeve having a first end and a second end, the second end of the second sleeve proximate the second end of the adapter, the sleeves defining an inner passage to receive optical fiber ferrules in both the first and second ends;
• an attenuation hub mounted within the interior of the housing including optical fiber forming a portion of the optical path between the first and second ends of the housing, an outer end of a first ferrule of the attenuation hub received by the second end of the first sleeve and an outer end of a second ferrule of the attenuation hub received by the first end of the second sleeve, the outer ends first and second ends of the attenuation hub fixed in position relative to each other, and each of the first and second ferrules having an inner face substantially perpendicular to the optical path;
• the housing including first and second stop surfaces spread apart in an axial direction, the attenuation hub and first and second sleeves positioned between the first and second stop surfaces and fixed from axial movement such that the attenuation hub and sleeves cannot be removed from the housing;
• and
• the first and second ends of the housing each sized to receive an optical fiber cable connector.

A fiber optic adapter for use with two optical fiber connectors, each connector including a ferrule holding an end of an optical fiber, the adapter comprising:

• a housing including a first end and a second end, and an axial opening defined from the first end to the second end, the axial opening having an axial length and a midpoint, each of the first end and the second end of the housing are sized to receive one of the optical fiber connectors;
• an attenuation hub having a first ferrule, a second ferrule and an axial opening including an optical fiber defining an optical path from an outer face of the first ferrule of the hub to an outer face of the second ferrule of the hub, the first and second ferrules joined and fixed in position with respect to each other, each of the first and second ferrules having an inner face substantially perpendicular to the axial opening;
• two halves which form an inner housing, the inner housing enclosing the attenuation hub and having a first open end proximate the outer face of the first ferrule of the hub and a second open end proximate the outer face of the ferrule of the hub;
• a first sleeve proximate the first open end and a second sleeve proximate the second open end, the first and second sleeves each adapted for receiving the ferrule of one of the optical fiber cable connectors;
• the attenuation hub positioned within the inner housing between the first and second sleeves with the outer faces of the ferrules engaged within the sleeves;
• the first and second sleeves positioned to optically align the optical fiber of the connector received by the first end of the housing with the optical fiber at the outer face of first ferrule of the attenuation hub, and the optical fiber of the connector received by the second end of the housing with the optical fiber at the outer face of second ferrule of the attenuation hub;
• the inner housing including two inner opposing ridges holding the first and second sleeves and the attenuation hub within the inner housing;
• the housing including opposing walls in the axial opening engaged with outer edges on the inner housing;
• the attenuation hub positioned within the axial opening of the housing such that the optical fiber is parallel to the axial opening and the attenuation hub is located at the midpoint of the housing, wherein the first and second ends of the housing allow the optical fiber of the ferrule of each connector to be in optical contact with the optical fiber of the attenuation hub;
• means for mounting the housing to an opening in a bulkhead.

A fiber optic bulkhead adapter assembly comprising:

• an adapter including:
• a housing with a first open end and a second open end, the housing defining an axial cavity from the first open end to the second open end;
• an attenuation hub having a first ferrule and a second ferrule, the attenuation hub including a length of optical fiber extending between outer faces of the ferrules;
• the first ferrule and the second ferrule of the attenuation hub fixed in position with respect to each other and an optical path including the optical fiber extending between the outer faces of the ferrules, each of the first and second ferrules having an inner face substantially perpendicular to the axial opening;
• and
• two sleeves, each sleeve engaging one of the first and second attenuation hub ferrules;
• the attenuation hub and sleeves positioned within the axial cavity of the housing and defining an axial opening with a first end and a second end proximate the first open end of the housing and the second open end of the housing, respectively;
• a bulkhead having a first side and a second side and defining an opening sized and shaped to receive the housing of the fiber optic adapter such that the first open end of the adapter is positioned proximate the first side and the second open end of the adapter is proximate the second side;
• and,
• the adapter mounted in the bulkhead opening such that a plane defined by the bulkhead passes through the attenuation hub.

A fiber optic bulkhead adapter assembly comprising:

• a fiber optic adapter including:
• a housing with a first open end and a second open end, the housing defining an axial cavity from the first open end to the second open end;
• an attenuation hub having a first ferrule and a second ferrule, the attenuation hub including a length of optical fiber extending between an outer face of each of the ferrules;
• the first ferrule and the second ferrule of the attenuation hub fixed in position with respect to each other and an optical path including the optical fiber extending between the ends, each of the ferrules including an inner face perpendicular to the optical path;
• and
• a sleeve engaging each of the first and second attenuation hub ends;
• the attenuation hub and sleeves positioned within the axial cavity of the housing and defining an axial opening with a first end and a second end proximate the first open end of the housing and the second open end of the housing, respectively, the hub and sleeves fixed from axial movement such that the hub and the first and second sleeves cannot be removed from the housing;
• a bulkhead having a first side and a second side and defining an opening sized and shaped to receive the housing of the fiber optic adapter such that the first open end of the adapter is positioned proximate the first side and the second open end of the adapter is proximate the second side;
• and
• the adapter mounted in the bulkhead opening.

A method of assembling a fiber optic bulkhead adapter comprising the steps of:

• providing a first ferrule with an axial opening including a first outer end with a first contact face and a second opposing end perpendicular to the axial opening, a second ferrule with an axial opening including a first end perpendicular to the axial opening and a second opposing outer end with a second contact face, and optical fiber;
• inserting the optical fiber within the axial openings of the ferrules;
• positioning the second end of the first ferrule to the first end of the second ferrule so that the axial openings of the ferrules and the optical fiber within the axial openings are aligned with each other and form an optical path from the first contact face to the second contact face, and fixing the contact faces in position relative to each other to form an attenuation hub;
• placing a sleeve about the first end of the first ferrule and the second end of the attenuation hub second ferrule so that a sleeve is positioned about each of the contact faces of the attenuation hub;
• inserting the attenuation hub into a housing, the housing including an axial opening having open ends, the axial opening including sleeve stops proximate each open end, so that the sleeve stops hold the sleeves and the attenuation hub within the axial opening.