EP0223609A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Contact for terminating an optical fiber
Assignee: Raychem Corp
•
Filing: 1986-11-19
•
Granted: —
•
Expires: 2006-11-19
Abstract
Abstract An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber (73) includes a solid multi-part thermoset mixture (55) in a cavity (54) in a front portion of the contact, an optical fiber being terminated by heating the thermoset so as to cause it to soften and liquify and subsequently inserting an optical fiber through the contact. The thermoset when liquified chemically reacts so as to form an epoxy adhesive which secures the optical fiber within the contact and keeps the optical fiber in place even when subjected to extremely wide temperature variations.
Inventors
- 👤 Frank H. Levinson
- 👤 Pravin Soni
- 👤 Adam C. Tanous
- 👤 Richard J. Mccrae
- 👤 Mark Ostasiuk
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-25 14:08
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/36; G02B6/38; G02B6/3807; G02B6/3833; G02B6/3855; G02B6/3861; G02B6/381; G02B6/3818; G02B6/382; G02B6/3821
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
79 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a cavity therein and an aperture through which an optical fiber to be terminated can extend; and a solid thermoset disposed within the cavity through which the optical fiber can be inserted, the thermoset comprising a multi-component room-temperature stable solid mixture which when heated softens, liquifies, mixes and then cures to form an adhesive capable of adhering to the optical fiber and the contact body.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
79 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a cavity therein and an aperture through which an optical fiber to be terminated can extend; and a solid thermoset disposed within the cavity through which the optical fiber can be inserted, the thermoset comprising a multi-component room-temperature stable solid mixture which when heated softens, liquifies, mixes and then cures to form an adhesive capable of adhering to the optical fiber and the contact body.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
60 words
The contact of claim 1, the adhesive consisting essentially of a solid mixture of novolac epoxy resin, either dicyandiamide or substituted dicyandiamide, and imidazole, the thermoset preferably being cylindrically shaped so as to have a bore in a central region thereof through which the optical fiber can be inserted, the thermoset preferably completely filling a cross-sectional area of the cavity.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
46 words
The contact of claims 1 or 2, an empty reservoir being formed adjacent a front end of the aperture, the front end of the aperture being on a front of the contact body whereat a front end of an optical fiber to be terminated is located.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
122 words
The contact of any one of claims 1-3, the contact body having a front face adjacent a front end thereof whereat an end of the optical fiber being terminated can be optically connected to another optical fiber, a back end of the contact body having a plurality of flanges extending from an outer surface thereof, the flanges forming at least one annular reservoir on the surface of the contact body between the flanges, and further comprising a second solid adhesive disposed in the reservoir, the flanges preferably forming at least one reservoir extending circumferencially around the contact body along a direction essentially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the contact body, the optical fiber being terminated preferably being disposed within the aperture.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
109 words
The contact of claim 4, further comprising means for urging braids of an optical fiber cable into the second adhesive, the urging means comprising a dimensionally recoverable member which when heated recovers radially inward and attempts to conform to a shape of the outer surface of the contact body and the second adhesive, the contact body including first and second tubes and a ring, the ring being press fitted onto the second tube adjacent a flange thereof, the first tube being telescopically press fitted onto said second tube so as to form a gap between a back end of the first tube and a front end of the ring.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
89 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a front face adjacent a front end thereof whereat an end of an optical fiber being terminated can be optically connected to another optical fiber, a back end of the contact body having a plurality of flanges extending from an outer surface thereof, the flanges forming at least one annular reservoir on the surface of the contact body between the flanges; and a solid adhesive disposed in the reservoir and secured to the contact body.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
89 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a front face adjacent a front end thereof whereat an end of an optical fiber being terminated can be optically connected to another optical fiber, a back end of the contact body having a plurality of flanges extending from an outer surface thereof, the flanges forming at least one annular reservoir on the surface of the contact body between the flanges; and a solid adhesive disposed in the reservoir and secured to the contact body.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
127 words
The contact of claim 6, the contact body having an aperture therein through which the optical fiber being terminated can be inserted, the flanges forming at least one reservoir and extending circumferentially around the contact body along a direction essentially perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of the contact body, the optical fiber being disposed within the aperture, and further comprising means for urging braids of an optical fiber cable into the adhesive, the urging means preferably comprising a dimensionally recoverable member which when heated recovers radially inward and attempts to conform to a shape of the outer surface of the contact body and the adhesive, the recoverable member when heated preferably conducting sufficient heat to the adhesive so as to cause the braids to be embedded therewithin.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
97 words
The contact of claim 6 or 7, the contact body including first and second tubes and a ring, the ring being press fitted onto the second tube adjacent a flange thereof, the first and second tubes being telescopically press fitted together such that a back end of the first tube and a front end of the ring are separated, and further comprising a spring disposed around the contact body such that a front end of the spring contacts the ring so as to limit forward movement of the spring along an outer surface of the contact body.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
68 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a cavity therein and an aperture through which an optical fiber to be terminated can extend, a reservoir being formed adjacent a front end of the aperture, the front end of the aperture being on a front of the contact body whereat a front end of the optical fiber to be terminated is located.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
68 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a cavity therein and an aperture through which an optical fiber to be terminated can extend, a reservoir being formed adjacent a front end of the aperture, the front end of the aperture being on a front of the contact body whereat a front end of the optical fiber to be terminated is located.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
131 words
The contact of claim 9, the optical fiber being terminated by being disposed through the contact body and the contact body aperture, the reservoir being sized so as to allow a resiliently deformable index matching solid disposed on an end of the optical fiber to deform and substantially flatten when compressed against an end of a second optical fiber being optically connected to the terminated optical fiber, and further comprising a solid thermoset disposed within the cavity, the thermoset comprising a multicomponent mixture which when heated softens, liquifies, mixes and cures to form an adhesive capable of adhering to the optical fiber being terminated and the contact body, a portion of the cured thermoset comprising the resiliently deformable index matching solid which is disposed on the end of the optical fiber.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
116 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a cavity therein and an aperture through which the optical fiber to be terminated can extend, the contact body comprising a ring and first and second tubes, the ring being disposed against a flange of the second tube, the first and second tubes being telescopically press fitted together such that a back end of the first tube is separated from a front end of the ring so as to form a gap therebetween, a length of the gap being controlled so as to precisely control a distance between a front end of the first tube and the front end of the ring.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
116 words
An optical fiber contact for terminating an optical fiber, comprising: a contact body having a cavity therein and an aperture through which the optical fiber to be terminated can extend, the contact body comprising a ring and first and second tubes, the ring being disposed against a flange of the second tube, the first and second tubes being telescopically press fitted together such that a back end of the first tube is separated from a front end of the ring so as to form a gap therebetween, a length of the gap being controlled so as to precisely control a distance between a front end of the first tube and the front end of the ring.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
72 words
The contact of claim 11, the ring being press fitted onto the second tube, and further comprising a solid thermoset disposed within the cavity through which the optical fiber can be inserted, the thermoset comprising a multicomponent mixture which when heated softens, liquifies, mixes and cures to form an adhesive capable of adhering to the optical fiber and the contact body, a reservoir being formed adjacent a front end of the aperture.
Claim 17
Independent Claim
52 words
A method of terminating an optical fiber, comprising the steps of: cleaving an end of the optical fiber; and inserting the cleaved optical fiber end through an aperture of a contact body such that the cleaved end of the optical fiber is substantially flush with a front face of the contact body.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
52 words
A method of terminating an optical fiber, comprising the steps of: cleaving an end of the optical fiber; and inserting the cleaved optical fiber end through an aperture of a contact body such that the cleaved end of the optical fiber is substantially flush with a front face of the contact body.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 13, further comprising the step of heating the contact body prior to inserting the cleaved optical fiber end therethrough so as to liquify a solid thermoset material therewithin such that a portion of the liquid theremoset material is disposed on and adheres to the cleaved optical fiber end.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of terminating an optical fiber, comprising the steps of: inserting an optical fiber end through an aperture of a contact body such that the optical fiber end extends forward of a front face of the contact body; cleaving the optical fiber end such that the cleaved optical fiber end extends forward of the contact body front face; and retracting the cleaved optical fiber end such that it is substantially flush with the contact body front face.
Claim 21
Independent Claim
78 words
A method of terminating an optical fiber, comprising the steps of: inserting an optical fiber end through an aperture of a contact body such that the optical fiber end extends forward of a front face of the contact body; cleaving the optical fiber end such that the cleaved optical fiber end extends forward of the contact body front face; and retracting the cleaved optical fiber end such that it is substantially flush with the contact body front face.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
Maintenance schedule is calculated for granted US utility patents.