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US4744620A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Optical coupler

Assignee: Nippon Sheet Glass Co Ltd
•
Filing: 1985-10-21
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Granted: 1988-05-17
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Expires: 2005-10-21
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Abstract

Abstract An optical coupler comprises a lens for coupling a light source and an optical fiber wherein the lens comprises a transparent column in which a refractive index n(r) at a distance r from an optical axis is expressed by n 2 (r)=n 0 2 {1-(gr) 2 +h 4 (gr) 4 +h 6 (gr) 6 +h 8 (gr) 8 + . . . }, and satisfies the following conditions when Sf=g/0.3: 0<C.sub.1 /Sf<0.67 C.sub.2 =0 0≦l.sub.1 ·Sf≦1.5 0.5≦h.sub.4 ≦2.0 wherein C 1 and C 2 are curvatures of input and output end faces (the sign is positive when the center of the radius of curvature is positioned at the side of the optical fiber with respect to the end face), l 1 is a back focus at the side of the light source, n 0 is a refractive index on the optical axis, and g, h 4 , h 6 and h 8 are distribution constants.

Inventors

  • 👤 Hiroshi Ueno
  • 👤 Hisami Nishi
  • 👤 Minoru Toyama

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-27 16:29
CPC Classifications
G; G02; G02B; G02B6/00; G02B6/24; G02B6/42; G02B6/4201; G02B6/4204; G02B6/4206; G02B3/00

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim 158 words
An optical coupler including a lens coupling a light source and an optical fiber wherein the lens comprises a transparent column in which a refractive index n(r) at a radius r from an optical axis in a plane normal to the optical axis is expressed by n 2 (r)=n 0 2 {1-(gr) 2 +h 4 (gr) 4 +[h 6 (gr) 6 +h 8 (gr) 8 +] . . . }, and satisfies the following conditions when Sf=g/0.3: 0<C.sub.1 /Sf<0.67 C.sub.2 =0 0≦l.sub.1 ·Sf≦1.5 0.5≦h.sub.4 ≦2.0 wherein C 1 and C 2 are curvatures of input and output end faces where a sign is positive when a center of the radius of curvature is positioned at the side of the optical fiber with respect to the end face, l 1 is a back focus at the side of the light source, n 0 is a refractive index on the optical axis, and g and h 4 are distribution constants.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 158 words
An optical coupler including a lens coupling a light source and an optical fiber wherein the lens comprises a transparent column in which a refractive index n(r) at a radius r from an optical axis in a plane normal to the optical axis is expressed by n 2 (r)=n 0 2 {1-(gr) 2 +h 4 (gr) 4 +[h 6 (gr) 6 +h 8 (gr) 8 +] . . . }, and satisfies the following conditions when Sf=g/0.3: 0<C.sub.1 /Sf<0.67 C.sub.2 =0 0≦l.sub.1 ·Sf≦1.5 0.5≦h.sub.4 ≦2.0 wherein C 1 and C 2 are curvatures of input and output end faces where a sign is positive when a center of the radius of curvature is positioned at the side of the optical fiber with respect to the end face, l 1 is a back focus at the side of the light source, n 0 is a refractive index on the optical axis, and g and h 4 are distribution constants.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 19 words
An optical coupler according to claim 1, wherein the following conditions are satisfied: 0.3<C.sub.1 /Sf<0.5 0.3<l.sub.1 ·Sf<1.3 0.7<h.sub.4 <2.0.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 59 words
An optical coupler according to claim 2, in which the refractive index n(r) is expressed by n 2 (r)=n 0 2 {1-(gr) 2 +h 4 (gr) 4 +h 6 (gr) 6 +. . . } and the following conditions are satisfied: 0.33<C.sub.1 <1.0 mm.sup.-1 -5<h.sub.6 <10 1.64<n.sub.0 <1.69 0.34<gr.sub.0 <0.37 0.3<l.sub.1 <1.1 mm 2.5<Z.sub.0 <4.5 mm 1.75<2r.sub.0 <2.0 mm.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

JPS556354A Cited
US4639094A Cited
US4640585A Cited
US4634233A Cited
US4643535A Cited
US4647159A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1991-05-17 1991-11-16 1992-05-17 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1995-05-17 1995-11-16 1996-05-17 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1999-05-17 1999-11-16 2000-05-17 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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