Fiber optic cable cleaner
US5836031A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 7, 1996 |
| Grant date | Nov 17, 1998 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2016 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG02B2006/4297
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
A device for cleaning the tips of optical fibers which have been installed in a connector, such as a plug or a receptacle. The device includes a tool body having cleaning media therein, such as a strip of adhesive tape, and a latch for releasably attaching the connector to the tool body. The adhesive tape may be in the form of a roll on a supply spool. In the embodiment designed for a plug, the tool body has an appropriately shaped opening for receiving the plug, and push rods are provided with the tool body which contact the fibers and urge them towards a cleaning position. In the embodiment designed for a receptacle, the receptacle is modified by having a tilt arm which can move the fibers to the cleaning position, and the tool body includes features to actuate the tilt arm as the tool body is inserted into the receptacle. Alternate designs are presented in which the cleaning media is not located in the tool body, but is manually applied to the fibers.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.