Method of repairing an optical fiber

Claim 1

A method of insuring optical signal transmission in an optical fiber network which has a fiber section which may not be capable of transmitting optical signals and may be in need of work, comprising the steps of: attaching a first passive coupler at a location upstream of the fiber section for withdrawing an optical signal out of a core of the optical fiber by passing the signal through a side of a fiber cladding; attaching a second passive coupler at a location downstream of the fiber section for injecting the withdrawn optical signal into the optical fiber core by passing the signal through the side of an optical fiber cladding; optically connecting the first coupler to the second coupler so as to allow the optical signal withdrawn by the first coupler to be injected by the second coupler; repairing the section so as to enable optical signal transmission therethrough; attaching third and fourth couplers for reading and writing, respectively, onto a further fiber traversing the fiber section and optically interconnecting these third and fourth couplers so as to allow a further optical signal in the further fiber to bypass the section by being withdrawn by the third coupler and being injected by the fourth coupler; removing the first, second, third, and fourth couplers from the optical fibers subsequent to completing the work on the fiber section.

Claim 2

A method of insuring optical signal transmission in an optical fiber network which has a fiber section which may not be capable of transmitting optical signals and may be in need of work, comprising the steps of: attaching a first passive coupler at a location upstream of the fiber section for withdrawing an optical signal out of a core of the optical fiber by passing the signal through a side of a fiber cladding; attaching a second passive coupler at a location downstream of the fiber section for injecting the withdrawn optical signal into the optical fiber core by passing the signal through the side of an optical fiber cladding; optically connecting the first coupler to the second coupler so as to allow the optical signal withdrawn by the first coupler to be injected by the second coupler; repairing the section so as to enable optical signal transmission therethrough; attaching third and fourth couplers for reading and writing, respectively, onto a further fiber traversing the fiber section and optically interconnecting these third and fourth couplers so as to allow a further optical signal in the further fiber to bypass the section by being withdrawn by the third coupler and being injected by the fourth coupler; removing the first, second, third, and fourth couplers from the optical fibers subsequent to completing the work on the fiber section.