Optical fibre bend sensor
US6621956B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 24, 2002 |
| Grant date | Sep 16, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jan 24, 2022 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG01D5/3538
- WIPO fieldMeasurement
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An optical fibre bend sensor (10) measures the degree and orientation of bending present in a sensor length (30) portion of a fibre assembly (26). Within a multicored fibre (30, 32,34), cores (62, 66) are grouped in non-coplanar pairs. An arrangement of optical elements (28, 36, 38) define within each core pair (62, 66) two optical paths (122, 124) which differ along the sensor length (30): one core (62) of a pair (62, 66) is included in the first path (122), and the other core (66) in the second path (124). A general bending of the sensor region (30) will lengthen one core (62, 66) with respect to the other. Interrogation of this length differential by means of interferometry generates interferograms from which the degree of bending in the plane of the core pair is extracted. Bend orientation can be deduced from data extracted from multiple core pairs.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.