Apparatus for automatically coupling two optical fibers in a tube
US6092394A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 25, 1998 |
| Grant date | Jul 25, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 25, 2018 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T156/1798
- WIPO fieldOptics
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An automated method and apparatus for making optical fiber couplers is disclosed. The apparatus includes various processing stations under the control of a programmable controller. A fiber feeding system receives a set of optical fibers from a reel and guides them to the various processing stations. The fibers are guided into a fiber insertion fixture. The insertion fixture moves the fibers to the aperture of a glass capillary tube. The fibers are then stripped of a portion of their coating. The feeding system feeds the stripped fibers through the insertion fixture and into the glass tube. The fibers are severed and terminated. Subsequently, a burner heats the glass tube, causing it to collapse around the fibers to form a fiber coupler.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.