Optical fiber separation and regrouping device

专利摘要:
PURPOSE: Provided is a shuffle device, more particularly, an optical fiber separation and regrouping device for an optical shuffle. Further provided is a method of organizing and managing optical fibers. CONSTITUTION: The fiber separation and regrouping device comprises: a housing having an input end, an output end(102B), and an interior region extending between the input end and the output end thereof; and a plurality of optical fibers extending through the interior region of the housing, each the optical fiber having a respective first coating disposed along a first portion thereof and a respective second coating disposed along a second portion thereof, wherein a respective encapsulation discontinuity is formed on each the optical fiber between the respective first coating and the respective second coating, wherein the housing is molded over the optical fibers to contain the optical fibers and surround the respective encapsulation discontinuities.
公开号:KR20020013804A
申请号:KR1020010048888
申请日:2001-08-14
公开日:2002-02-21
发明作者:니콜라스아나우드
申请人:엠. 리차드 페이지；프라마톰 커넥터즈 인터내셔널 에스.에이.；
IPC主号:

专利说明:

Optical Fiber Separation and Regrouping Device
[16] TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a shuffle device, and more particularly, to an optical fiber separation and regrouping device for optical fiber shuffle.
[17] Fiber optics provide well known media for communicating information in communications and data devices such as computers and telephone systems. It is well known that the optical fiber has the property that its optical transmission capacity is maximum when the fiber is straight and there is no bending, and there is signal attenuation due to bending. These bending losses can be characterized by losses due to large and gradual bending (macrobending) and losses due to small and sharp bendings (microbending). Large bending can occur, for example, from winding an optical fiber, while fine bending occurs by random deviation in the direction of the central axis.
[18] Thus, optical fiber is typically provided with protective coding to protect the fiber from attenuation due to fine bending and to preserve the inherent strength of the glass. Individual optical fibers may be encapsulated in a polymer wrap that protects the fibers from damage, or the optical fiber ribbon may be formed by aligning a plurality of optical fibers in a linear array to form a ribbon and encapsulating the fibers within the polymer wrap.
[19] Two coatings are commonly used to form fiber optic cables or ribbons. The first coating typically applied to the surface of the optical fiber is generally called the main coating. The primary coating is a soft, resilient material that, once cured, acts as a cushion to protect the fibers by relieving the stresses produced when the fibers are bent. The main coating generally has a low glass transition temperature to provide resistance to fine bending.
[20] Certain properties are required for the main coating. For example, the main coating should maintain adequate adhesion to the glass fibers during heat and hydrolysis aging, but should be removable for splicing purposes. The modulus of the main coating must be low to protect the fiber by relieving stress on the fiber which can cause large bending and consequently inefficient signal transmission. The main coating preferably has a low glass transition temperature to ensure that the coating remains elastic over a wide temperature range.
[21] The second or outer coating is applied over the main coating. The second coating acts as a rigid protective layer that prevents damage to the glass fibers during use and processing by providing some resistance to handling forces such as those received when the coated fibers are made into cables.
[22] In addition, it is often desirable to switch information between systems that use optical fibers as the information transfer medium. This can be accomplished by directing fiber optic output from each system to one or more systems. This is known to shuffling fibers and the mechanism by which this is accomplished is known as optical shuffling. An optical shuffle in which one fiber output from each system is directed to a different system is known as a perfect shuffle. Thus, in complete shuffle, each system can communicate with all other systems.
[23] One way in which an optical shuffle can be formed is to "re-ribbonize" the exiting fiber after removing the coating from the ribbon or fiber entered into the shuffle. That is, the fibers from which the coating has been removed are grouped differently, reencapsulated, and then output from the shuffle. Moreover, the fibers are liable to bend and deform in the region of the discontinuities.
[24] There is a need in the art for a compact optical shuffle that reduces bending and deformation in discontinuities and protects the fibers from damage while allowing re-ribonization of multiple optical fibers. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an optical fiber separation and regrouping device for protecting and controlling the bends of the optical fiber in the discontinuities.
[25] The present invention relates to a separation and regrouping device comprising a housing and a plurality of conductive elements, such as an optical fiber extending through an inner region of the housing. The optical fibers may be individually encapsulated, such as optical fiber cables, or grouped together and then encapsulated to form optical fiber ribbons.
[26] Each optical fiber has a first coating disposed along its first portion and a second coating disposed along its second portion. Encapsulation discontinuities are formed on each optical fiber between the first and second coatings. The housing may be preassembled or may be formed over the optical fiber to contain the optical fiber and surround encapsulation discontinuities.
[27] The inner region of the housing includes a guide channel for guiding the optical fiber through the inner region of the housing. The guide groove may be a single groove or may include a plurality of grooves. The guide groove may be twisted to rotate the fiber as the fiber extends through the housing.
[28] The device may also include one or more strain relief elements within an interior region of the housing containing the optical fiber and surrounding the encapsulation discontinuity. The single strain relief element may comprise a plurality of fibers, or the device may comprise a number of strain relief elements, each of which comprises a single fiber.
[29] To further reduce strain on the conductive elements, the housing may also include one or more potting chambers in which the optical fiber is potted into the housing.
[30] The method according to the invention for organizing conductive elements comprises providing a plurality of conductive elements arranged in first groups, separating the first groups into individual conductive elements, and separating the individual conductive elements into a second group. Rearranging them into the
[31] The first group may be optical ribbons, which are separated by ribbon releasing the fibers (eg, by removing the capsule from the ribbon to expose the fibers). The ribbon released fibers can then be reribbled (ie, by rearranging and encapsulating in a second group to form a second ribbon).
[32] Thus, the method according to the invention for managing a plurality of conductive elements comprises arranging a first section of conductive elements in a first arrangement, arranging a second section of conductive elements in a second arrangement, and And enclosing a third section of conductive elements located between the second sections.
[33] The third section of elements conductive the housing, such as by inserting conductive elements into a pre-assembled shuffle device, or by overmolding the housing over the third section or potting the third section in the tubular structure. It can be enclosed by encapsulating the elements.
[1] 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a separation and regrouping apparatus according to the present invention;
[2] 2 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary input fiber matrix.
[3] 3A and 3B are cross-sectional views of an unrotated output fiber matrix before and after re-ribbonization.
[4] 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of a separation and regrouping apparatus according to the present invention;
[5] 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of yet another preferred embodiment of a separation and regrouping apparatus according to the present invention.
[6] 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views of the rotated output fiber matrix before and after reribonification.
[7] <Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>
[8] 100, 200: device
[9] 102: optical fiber
[10] 102A: input end
[11] 112: input cable
[12] 114: input ribbon
[13] 116: input matrix
[14] 118: output matrix
[15] 134, 136: strain relief elements
[34] As shown in FIG. 1, the separating and regrouping device 100 for a conductive element such as an optical fiber includes a housing 102 and a plurality of optical fibers 110. The housing 102 has an input end 102A, an inner region 104 and an output end 102B through which the optical fiber 110 extends.
[35] Each optical fiber 110 is coated with a respective first coating 110 ′ disposed along its first or input portion 110A. The individual optical fiber 110 may be coated along its input portion 110A to form an input cable 112, or a collection of optical fibers 110 may each have its respective input portion to form an input ribbon 114. Thus they may be arranged together and coated. The device 100 can include any number of input cables 112 or input ribbons 114, or any combination of input cables 112 and input ribbons 114.
[36] In a preferred embodiment, the collection of input cable 112 and input ribbon 114 may be composed of an input fiber matrix 116 as shown in cross section in FIG. Although input matrix 116 may include any number or combination of input ribbons 114 or input cables 112 and typically input ribbon 114 may include any number of fibers from 1 to N. However, as shown, the input matrix 116 may include three input ribbons 114a-114c with six optical fibers 110a-110c, respectively. Thus, for the purposes of this specification, input cable 112 may be referred to as input ribbon 114 with only one optical fiber 110. The input matrix 116 is oriented so that the ribbon 114 is parallel to the direction indicated by the arrow C.
[37] The following describes a prefabricated housing 102 that can be made of plastic or metal. Referring once again to FIG. 1, the housing 102 is shown to include an input aperture 120 that houses the entire input fiber matrix 116. Although the device 100 can generally be configured to receive N ribbons, each with M (n) fibers, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention the input end 102A of the housing 102 is each 12 fibers. Is configured to receive an input fiber matrix 116 with twelve ribbons, wherein 1 <= n <= N, M (n) is the number of fibers contained in ribbon n and M (n)> = 1 .
[38] To reduce the angle of bending, the housing 102 may include a guide groove 142 that guides the fiber 110 through the interior region 104 of the housing 102. Preferably, the guide groove 142 includes a plurality of grooves 144 extending through the housing 102. Each groove 144 is sized and shaped to receive either a cable 112 or a ribbon 144 of fibers.
[39] Each optical fiber 110 is coated with a respective second coating 110 "disposed along its second or output portion 110B. Each optical fiber 110 has its own to form an output cable 122. Coated along the individual portions 110B, a collection of optical fibers 110 may be arranged and coated together along their respective output portions to form an output ribbon 124. Although, housing 102 Although the total number of optical fibers 110 extending through the output end 102B of the optical fiber 110 must be equal to the number of optical fibers 110 extending through the input end 102A of the housing 102, the apparatus 100 Number of output cables 122 or output ribbons 124, or any combination of output cables 122 and output ribbons 124. That is, optical fibers are not created or destroyed within the device 100. Instead of just entering the fiber (as described below) Only part of the bone is separated and regrouped (to form an output ribbon), so device 100 will generally have N ribbons with M (n) fibers having Y (x) fibers. It is used to convert to X ribbons, where 1 <= x <= X, where Y (x) is the number of fibers contained within the x ribbon and Y (x)> = 1.
[40] Although all or part of the input ribbon may extend through the housing 102 and come out of the output end 102B of the same configuration (ie, the same fibers as the input may be grouped together at the output), the device ( 100 may be used to separate and regroup an array of fibers forming the input ribbon 114 into a second array of fibers on the output side of the device to form and regroup the output ribbon 124. 3A and 3B provide cross-sectional views of the unrotated output fiber matrix 118 before and after reriboning. In FIG. 3A the output matrix 118 may be oriented such that the output ribbon 124 is parallel to the direction indicated by the arrow C, whereas in FIG. 3B the reribbed output matrix 118 'is output. It should be appreciated that the ribbon 124 'may be oriented perpendicular to the direction indicated by arrow C.
[41] The output matrix 118 is exposed to the optical fiber 110, although the capsule is removed from the distant part using peeling or chemical or thermal strippers or other suitable techniques known in the art. Although preferred, it can be reribbed in any manner known to those skilled in the art. The exposed fibers may preferably be encapsulated to form multiple output ribbons 124a-f. The ribbons in combination form an output ribbon matrix 118 ′ in chamber 140B. Preferably each output ribbon 124a-124f includes one fiber 110 from each input ribbon 114a-114c.
[42] Thus, it is desirable for the optical fiber 110 to have a first coating 110 ′ disposed along its first portion 110A and a second coating 110 ″ disposed along its second portion 110B. The process of reriboning the matrix. As shown in Fig. 1, each encapsulation discontinuity 130 has an optical fiber 110 (first or input coating 110 'and second or output coating 110 "). Are formed on each optical fiber 110 with no coating. Preferably, all of each encapsulation discontinuity 130 is formed in the same entire area or region 132 within the housing 102. .
[43] To further reduce the angle of bending, the fiber separation and regrouping apparatus 100 may also include one or more additional strain relief elements. The device may include a single strain relief element 134 that surrounds all fibers 110 in the region 132 at the output end of the housing 102. Preferably, the strain relief element 134 is a small plastic tube containing a plurality of optical fibers (preferably all) to prevent bending of the optical fiber in the region 132. Alternatively, or in addition, the device 100 may include one or more individual stress relief elements 136 surrounding each discontinuity 130 of the individual optical fiber 110, or of the housing 102. At the input end the ribbon 114 is separated into a separate cable 112. Preferably, each strain relief element 136 is a small plastic tube embedded therein to prevent bending of individual optical fibers 110 in the encapsulation discontinuity 130.
[44] To further reduce bending, the input and output fiber matrices can be potted (eg, epoxybonded) into the housing 102. To accomplish this, the housing 102 may include an input porting chamber 140A for potting the input cable 112 and the input ribbon 114. Similarly, housing 102 may include an output potting chamber 140B for potting output cables and ribbons. Potting chambers 140A and 140B may be filled with epoxy or other such potting materials to hold the fibers in place. This stabilizes the fibers (and, if any, the strain relief elements 134, 136) to reduce strain. Thus, the device 100 serves to enclose the fibers without the need for any additional housing. As shown in Fig. 3B, the output ribbon 124 'is oriented in the same direction as the input ribbons 112a to 112c (see Fig. 2). Nevertheless, in general, the output ribbon 124 'may be oriented in any direction relative to the input ribbon 112, but for purposes of routing the output ribbon 124' It should be noted that the same orientation, ie generally parallel to the direction of arrow C, is preferred. To accomplish this, the device according to the invention can be used to rotate the ribbon matrix as it extends through the housing so that after reriboning the output ribbon is oriented in the same direction as the input ribbon.
[45] The device 100 may also include one or more mounting members 146 extending from the housing 102. Mounting member 146 may be used to mount device 100 to one or more substrates, such as printed circuit boards (PCBs).
[46] It is known that optical fibers are susceptible to large bending and fine bending at each encapsulation discontinuity 130. In another embodiment of the preassembled housing, the housing 102 may be formed over the optical fiber in the region 132 to embed the fibers and reduce the angle of bending in the region 132. In this embodiment, the housing 102 may be made of a polymer such as plastic and may be formed over the optical fiber.
[47] In another embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the housing 102 ′ may be a tubular structure having entirely open ends and an open interior. Once the fiber 110 penetrates it, the housing 102 'may be potted with a known material such as epoxy. The epoxy fills the rest of the open interior of the housing that is not occupied by the fibers. Epoxy holds the fibers in place and provides strain relief.
[48] FIG. 5 shows a cross section of an apparatus 200 for separating and regrouping optical fibers that include twisted guide grooves 144. The device 200 is similar to the device 100 except that the groove 144 is twisted. As the input fiber matrix is twisted as it extends through the housing 102 (as shown in FIG. 2), the fiber matrix is output (as shown in FIG. 6A) in the first orientation of the input end 102A. Rotated in the second orientation of the end 102B. The output fiber matrix 118 can be "re-ribbled", as described above, to form a rotated reribbled output fiber matrix 118 ", the cross section of which is shown in Figure 6b. 124 "a to 124" f is once again parallel to the direction indicated by arrow C.
[49] Although the output fiber matrix may generally have any orientation with respect to the orientation of the input fiber matrix (ie, the guide groove 144 may be twisted to rotate the fiber matrix at any angle), the guide groove 144 ) Is preferably twisted to rotate the fiber matrix about 90 degrees so that the output ribbon after being reribbled is parallel to the input ribbon. This helps to reduce the overall size of the device.
[50] It is usually preferred that the fiber device according to the invention be as small as possible, especially for applications with limited available space, but can have any size for any use. For example, in a preferred embodiment the device 100 may have a length of about 50 mm and a cross section of about 10 mm × 10 mm.
[51] Although the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments of the various figures, other similar embodiments may be used, or modifications and additions may be made to the described embodiments to carry out the same functions as the invention without departing from the invention. It can be seen that. Accordingly, the present invention should not be limited to any embodiment, but should be understood within the scope of the description of the appended claims.
[52] The present invention provides an optical fiber separation and regrouping device capable of protecting and controlling the bend of the optical fiber in the discontinuous portion.

权利要求:
Claims (20)
[1" claim-type="Currently amended] In the fiber separation and regrouping apparatus,
A housing having an input end, an output end, and an inner region extending between the input end and the output end,
A plurality of optical fibers each having a first coating extending through an interior region of the housing and disposed along a first portion and each second coating disposed along a second portion,
Each encapsulation discontinuity is formed on the respective optical fiber between each of the first and second coatings,
And the housing is formed over the optical fiber to contain the optical fiber and surround each encapsulation discontinuity.
[2" claim-type="Currently amended] The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising at least one strain relief element embedded within at least one optical fiber in an interior region of the housing and surrounding each encapsulation discontinuity of the at least one optical fiber.
[3" claim-type="Currently amended] The device of claim 2, wherein the strain relief element contains a plurality of fibers and surrounds each encapsulation discontinuity.
[4" claim-type="Currently amended] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of strain relief elements in an interior region of the housing, each of which contains one of the optical fibers and surrounds a respective encapsulation discontinuity thereof.
[5" claim-type="Currently amended] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing includes an input potting chamber in which the optical fiber is potted into the housing near its input end.
[6" claim-type="Currently amended] 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the housing includes an output potting chamber in which the optical fiber is potted into the housing near its output end.
[7" claim-type="Currently amended] 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the input terminal of the housing includes a plurality of input holes through which the optical fiber extends through the interior region of the housing.
[8" claim-type="Currently amended] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of optical fibers form an input optical fiber ribbon extending through the input terminal of the housing.
[9" claim-type="Currently amended] The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a subset of the plurality of optical fibers form an output optical fiber ribbon extending through the output terminal of the housing.
[10" claim-type="Currently amended] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner region of the housing includes a guide groove for guiding the optical fiber through the inner region of the housing.
[11" claim-type="Currently amended] 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inner region of the housing includes a twisted guide groove that rotates the optical fiber as the optical fiber extends through the housing.
[12" claim-type="Currently amended] In the method of organizing the conductive element,
Providing a plurality of conductive elements arranged in first groups;
Separating the first groups into individual conductive elements,
Rearranging the individual conductive elements into second groups;
Extending the conductive elements through a shuffle device.
[13" claim-type="Currently amended] 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the first groups comprise ribbons, and wherein the separating comprises releasing the first groups of ribbons.
[14" claim-type="Currently amended] 14. The method of claim 13, further comprising positioning the second group in ribbons.
[15" claim-type="Currently amended] 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the rearranging step forms second groups different from the first groups.
[16" claim-type="Currently amended] A method of managing a plurality of conductive elements,
Arranging the first sections of the conductive elements in a first arrangement;
Arranging a second section of the conductive elements in a second arrangement;
Enclosing a third section of the conductive elements located between the first and second sections.
[17" claim-type="Currently amended] 17. The method of claim 16, wherein enclosing comprises inserting the conductive elements into a preassembled shuffle device.
[18" claim-type="Currently amended] 17. The method of claim 16, wherein said encapsulating comprises encapsulating said conductive elements.
[19" claim-type="Currently amended] 19. The method of claim 18, wherein encapsulating comprises overmolding the housing over the third section.
[20" claim-type="Currently amended] 19. The method of claim 18, wherein encapsulating comprises positioning the third section within the tubular structure and porting the third section within the tubular structure.

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引用文献:

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公开号 | 申请日 | 公开日 | 申请人 | 专利标题

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法律状态:
2000-08-15|Priority to US09/638,768

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2000-08-15|Priority to US09/638,768

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2001-08-14|Application filed by 엠. 리차드 페이지, 프라마톰 커넥터즈 인터내셔널 에스.에이.

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2002-02-21|Publication of KR20020013804A

优先权:

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申请号 | 申请日 | 专利标题

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US09/638,768|2000-08-15|

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US09/638,768|US6594437B1|2000-08-15|2000-08-15|Optical fiber separation and regrouping device|