Multi part optical fibre connectors

Claim 2

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the housing is a moulded body of plastics material and the or each integrated optical chip is at least partially encapsulated in the moulded plastics material of the housing.

Claim 3

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the integrated optical chip (36, 56) or at least one of the integrated optical chips is so encapsulated in the plastics material of or is otherwise so disposed within the housing that the chip is intermediate of the oppositely disposed ends of the housing and is permanently optically inter-connected between end parts of the optical conductor or of at least one of the optical conductors of which it constitutes a part.

Claim 4

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the integrated optical chip (6) or at least one of the integrated optical chips is so encapsulated in the plastics material of or is otherwise so disposed within the housing (2) that one side face of the chip is positioned at an end of the housing constituting a plug or socket and is permanently optically connected to a part of the optical conductor (5) or of at least one of the optical conductors extending to the other end of the housing.

Claim 5

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the part or parts of the or each optical conductor not constituted by the or an integrated optical chip is or are at least one optical fibre.

Claim 6

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims which is to constitute one end part of a multi-part optical fibre connector, wherein one of the two oppositely disposed ends of the housing constitutes a plug or a socket (3, 34) and the other of the two oppositely disposed ends is adapted to be permanently or detachably secured to an end of at least one flexible optical guide (4, 33) comprising at least one optical fibre in such a way that the or each optical fibre of the guide is optically connected to the or an optical conductor of the optical fibre connector-part or that the or each optical fibre of the guide extends into the housing and constitutes a part of the or an optical conductor of the connector-part.

Claim 7

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in Claim 6, wherein the end of the housing constituting a plug or a socket also constitutes at least one additional plug or socket for effecting a plug and socket connection with a socket or plug at an end of a further optical fibre connector-part.

Claim 8

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 which is to constitute the end part of a multi-part optical fibre connector, wherein one of the two oppositely disposed ends of the housing constitutes a plug or a socket (3, 34) and the other of the two oppositely disposed ends is permanently or detachably secured to an end of, at least one flexible optical cable (4, 33) comprising a single optical fibre or comprising a plurality of, optical fibres, or to an end of an optical fibre ribbon comprising a plurality of optical fibres arranged side-by-side with their axes lying in a substantially common plane, in such a way that the or each optical fibre is optically connected to the or an optical conductor of the optical fibre connector-part or that the or each optical fibre extends into the housing and constitutes a part of the or an optical conductor of the connector-part.

Claim 9

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 which is to constitute an intermediate part of a multi-part optical fibre connector, wherein each of two oppositely disposed ends of the housing of the optical fibre connector-part constitutes a plug or a socket.

Claim 10

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the housing of the intermediate optical fibre connector-part constitutes at least one additional plug or socket for effecting a plug and socket connection with a socket or plug at an end of a further optical fibre connector-part.

Claim 11

An optical fibre connector-part as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the additional plug or socket or at least one of the additional plugs or sockets of the intermediate optical fibre connector-part is disposed at one of the two oppositely disposed ends of the housing or at a position intermediate of said two oppositely disposed ends.

Claim 12

A multi-part optical fibre connector for detachably inter-connecting end-to-end at least two flexible optical guides each comprising at least one optical fibre, wherein at least one of the connector-parts of the multi-part optical fibre connector is an optical fibre connector-part as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims.

Claim 13

A kit of parts for assembling a multi-part optical fibre connector, which kit of parts comprises at least two optical fibre connector-end parts each comprising a housing which at one of two oppositely disposed ends of the housing constitutes a plug or a socket and which at the other of said two oppositely disposed ends is adapted to be permanently or detachably secured to an end of at least one flexible optical guide comprising at least one optical fibre and at least one optical conductor disposed within and extending between said two oppositely disposed ends of the housing; and at least two adaptors for optically inter-connecting two end parts, each adaptor comprising a housing in which at least one optical conductor is disposed between two oppositely disposed ends of the housing, each constituting a plug or a socket, and in which at least one integrated optical chip is disposed and constitutes at least a part of said optical conductor or of at least one of said optical conductors, the integrated optical chip of each adaptor differing from the integrated optical chip of the other adaptor or of each of the other adaptors.

Claim 14

A kit of parts as claimed in Claim 13, wherein at least one of the optical, fibre connector-end parts has at least one integrated optical chip disposed in its housing and constituting at least a part of the optical conductor or of one of the optical conductors extending between oppositely disposed ends of the housing.