Patents Examined by Kevin S. Wood
  • Patent number: 7418177
    Abstract: Certain aspects of the disclosure relate to fiber optic cable systems, packaging configurations and methods that facilitate the effective use and installation of pre-terminated fiber optic cable. A fiber optic cable breakout arrangement can include a main cable, a branch cable that separates from the main cable, and an elongate protective sheath. Fibers of the branch cable can be packaged in the sheath to secure the fibers to the exterior of the main cable. In certain embodiments, the sheath can have a profile height extending generally radially outwardly from the main cable and a width that is greater than the profile height.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: ADC Telecommunications, Inc.
    Inventors: Yu Lu, John Clifton Cobb
  • Patent number: 7416350
    Abstract: An optical connectorcomprises an optical cable; and a ferrule that is attached to an end of the optical cable and performs optical connection; a cover that defines a through hole that the optical cable passes through, the cover covering the ferrule without contacting the ferrule; and a removal-preventing section that is disposed inside a wall that the through hole of the cover is formed on, and the removal-preventing section preventing a pulling force applied to the optical cable from being transferred to the ferrule.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2008
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoshihisa Ueda, Toshimichi Iwamori
  • Patent number: 7412144
    Abstract: A waveguide has upper and lower cladding regions. A core of the waveguide made of a non-linear optical polymer is positioned between the upper and lower cladding regions. A first electrode is connected to the upper cladding region and a second electrode is connected to the lower cladding region. The upper cladding region and the lower cladding region are made of photonic band gap materials and have multiple periods of cladding layers with each period having a first layer having a linear refractive index of n1 and each period having a second layer having a linear refractive index of n2. The waveguide allows for minimal distances to exist between the electrodes while allowing for virtual lossless cm-long transmission of propagating light. By applying a voltage to the electrodes, the propagated light can be modulated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army
    Inventors: Mark J. Bloemer, Michael Scalora, Evgenl Y. Poliakov
  • Patent number: 7410308
    Abstract: A new fiber optic cable splice for splicing optical fiber cables together and reconstructing fiber-optic cable that provide substantially enhanced reliability and broadened operating temperature range is disclosed. The disclosed cable splice offer reliable and user friendly solutions to applications in many harsh environments such as avionics, field vehicles, and defense related instrumentation. The cable splice consists of a preassembled one piece splice core and outer mechanical and thermal shielding layers. A simple splicing procedure and key fixtures are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2008
    Assignee: All Optronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Charles Qian, Katherine X. Liu
  • Patent number: 7409131
    Abstract: An all-optical logic gates comprises a nonlinear element such as an optical resonator configured to receive optical input signals, at least one of which is amplitude-modulated to include data. The nonlinear element is configured in relation to the carrier frequency of the optical input signals to perform a logic operation based on the resonant frequency of the nonlinear element in relation to the carrier frequency. Based on the optical input signals, the nonlinear element generates an optical output signal having a binary logic level. A combining medium can be used to combine the optical input signals for discrimination by the nonlinear element to generate the optical output signal. Various embodiments include all-optical AND, NOT, NAND, NOR, OR, XOR, and XNOR gates and memory latch.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 14, 2006
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Coveytech, LLC
    Inventor: John Luther Covey
  • Patent number: 7409136
    Abstract: A release auxiliary device (6) includes a cover part (51) that is provided movably with respect to a receptacle (11) along the insertion/removal direction of a plug (12), and an inclined pressing part (52) that is provided in the cover part (51) and is touchable, from a lower side, to an end portion (41a) of a lever (41). The inclined pressing part (52) presses against the end portion (41a) of the lever (41) and moves the lever by moving the cover part (51) in a direction in which the plug (12) is detached, enabling release of engagement between engaging portions (42, 28).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 5, 2008
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Kouji Kanou, Hiroyuki Shouyama, Masahiko Kondo, Yoshiyuki Nakayama
  • Patent number: 7406247
    Abstract: Devices, systems and methods for thermal testing of optoelectronic modules are disclosed. The device includes a frame member, a thermoelectric cooler, a plate in thermal contact with the DUT, a heat sink in thermal contact with the frame, and a metallic clip for attaching the thermal testing device to the module (DUT). The clip secures the thermoelectric cooler to the DUT. The method includes the steps of providing a testing apparatus having a printed circuit board with a test circuit formed thereon. The test board also has an electrical interface disposed in electrical communication with the test circuit, and a thermal testing assembly. A temporary electrical connection is formed between the DUT device and the interface. The thermal testing assembly is used to maintain a test temperature of the DUT device. A data stream is transmitted through the DUT device and then evaluated for adherence to a defined specification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2008
    Assignee: Finisar Corporation
    Inventors: Samantha R. Bench, John C. Dirkson, Darin James Douma
  • Patent number: 7403685
    Abstract: A telecommunications cable includes a distribution cable, a tether branching from the distribution cable at the mid-span breakout location, an enclosure that surrounds the breakout location, and an access device including a ripcord installed on the enclosure. Typically, the first and second ends of the ripcord are arranged adjacent the first end of the enclosure and a middle of the ripcord forms a half-loop adjacent the second end of the enclosure. The ripcord is configured to cut through the body of the enclosure when pulled from at least one of the first and second ends.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 22, 2008
    Assignee: ADC Telecommunications, Inc.
    Inventor: Dennis Ray Wells
  • Patent number: 7400789
    Abstract: A sensing module positioned about an optical fiber cable having a long axis. The optical fiber includes a core that transmits light through the optical fiber cable. The sensing module includes a first short-period fiber grating positioned about the core. A second short-period fiber grating is positioned about the core and at a distance along the long axis with respect to the first short-period fiber grating. At least one of a long-aperiod fiber grating and a long-period fiber grating is positioned between the first short-period fiber grating and the second short-period fiber grating. A fiber cladding is positioned around the long-period grating and/or the long-aperiod grating of the sensing module. A sensing skin is positioned about the fiber cladding and includes a chemical gas active material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 29, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: General Electric Company
    Inventors: Hua Xia, Kung-Li Justin Deng, Kevin Thomas McCarthy, Avinash Vinayak Taware
  • Patent number: 7400799
    Abstract: An optical device fabrication method capable of fabricating optical devices with high precision and reliability in a simple process and at a low cost. The method of splicing a first optical device and a second optical device to fabricate a third optical device includes the steps of: (a) starting heating of an end surface of the first optical device to soften the end surface; (b) pushing the second optical device into the softened end surface to splice the first optical device and a joint surface of the second optical device to each other; (c) pulling back the second optical device to arrange the joint surface of the second optical device onto or outside of the end surface of the first optical device; and (d) terminating heating of the end surface to fix the first and second optical device spliced to each other.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2005
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: Precise Gauges Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Musubu Koishi
  • Patent number: 7400806
    Abstract: A photonic-bandgap fiber includes a photonic crystal lattice with a material having a first refractive index and a pattern of regions formed therein. Each of the regions has a second refractive index lower than the first refractive index. The photonic-bandgap fiber further includes a core and a core ring surrounding the core and having an inner perimeter, an outer perimeter, and a thickness between the inner perimeter and the outer perimeter. The thickness is sized to reduce the number of ring surface modes supported by the core ring.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2007
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
    Inventors: Hyang Kyun Kim, Shanhui Fan, Gordon S. Kino, Jonghwa Shin, Michel J. F. Digonnet, Vinayak Dangui
  • Patent number: 7400811
    Abstract: The present invention relates to a sealing device for optical fiber, comprising in combination a plurality of conical jaws (4) with which optical fiber (1) is in line, a body including a corresponding female cone (3) intended to receive the jaws, a nut (6) screwed on the body so as to compress the jaws, a casing (10) linked to the body and covering the nut so as to form around it an at least partly confined volume, a filling material (9) intended to fill at least part of the volume, and wherein the material comprises solid fillers favouring sealing between the body, the jaws and the fiber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 15, 2008
    Assignee: Institut Francais du Petrole
    Inventor: Christian Wittrisch
  • Patent number: 7382961
    Abstract: A telecommunications system includes a first fiber management apparatus having a rear-trough architecture, a second fiber management apparatus having a front-access architecture, and a transition panel interposed between the first and second fiber management apparatuses, to transition fibers from the rear-trough architecture of the first fiber management apparatus to the front-access architecture of the second fiber management apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: Telect Inc.
    Inventors: Xin Xin, James Patrick Jenkins
  • Patent number: 7379636
    Abstract: An optical switch having a plurality of switch cells. The optical switch has n inputs (n is a natural number) and m outputs (m is a natural number). The optical switch has a unit size defined as the distance between any two adjacent ones of the switch cells. The optical switch comprises a substrate having a switch size of K×L (K is an integer satisfying n?K, and L is an integer satisfying m?L), first and second mirrors parallel to each other and perpendicular to a principal surface of the substrate, and an optical unit providing a plurality of input optical paths for the n inputs and a plurality of output optical paths for the m outputs. The plurality of input optical paths are inclined relative to the first and second mirrors, and the plurality of output optical paths are inclined relative to the first and second mirrors. Each switch cell comprises a switch mirror provided movably relative to the substrate. With this configuration, the path dependence of loss is substantially eliminated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Yoichi Oikawa, Satoshi Kuroyanagi
  • Patent number: 7379647
    Abstract: A method includes transmitting optical signals through a heterogeneous sequence of spans of an all-optical transmission line. Each span has an optical transmission fiber connected to an optical amplifier. Each amplifier launches the signals into a sequential remainder of the line. The transmitting includes launching the optical signals into the highest loss fibers with substantially equal average optical launch powers or operating the spans with the highest loss fibers to have substantially equal quality products. The average optical launch powers are substantially equal to the inverse of a sum of (1?Tj)?j/[?NL·?j] over the highest loss fibers. The parameters Tj, ?j, and ?j are the respectiveare, respectively, transmissivity, nonlinear optical coefficient, and loss coefficient of the fiber of the j-th span. The parameter ?NL is the line's cumulative nonlinear phase shift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2005
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: Lucent Technologies Inc.
    Inventors: Paul Claisse, Rene'-Jean Essiambre, Wonsuck Lee
  • Patent number: 7377701
    Abstract: The invention provides a fiber plate formed by arranging in mutually adjacent manner plural individual fiber plates of a same thickness so as to provide a light guiding plane larger in area than the light guiding plane of the individual one fiber plate, and a radiation image pickup apparatus utilizing such fiber plate, in which: each of the plural individual fiber plates is composed of a group of optical fibers having mutually parallel axes, and lateral faces of the plural individual fiber plates are mutually so bonded that the axes of the optical fibers thereof become mutually parallel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 22, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 27, 2008
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kenji Kajiwara, Osamu Hamamoto
  • Patent number: 7373071
    Abstract: An optical fiber cable management panel includes drawer assemblies, each including a drawer slidable within a chassis. The drawer assemblies are secured together by a bracket that includes an interlock arrangement with the chassis. Such an interlock arrangement includes a non-threaded stud engaging a hole. Radius limiters may be part of the drawer assembly and include a cable entry aperture have a closed perimeter and a flared cable guide surface around most of, and preferably all of, the closed perimeter to allow for the entry of cables from all directions. A control mechanism controls movement of the radius limiter relative to the drawer assembly. The control mechanism includes a rotating member that has an axis of rotation transverse to the slidable motion of the radius limiter and normal to the radius limiter.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2007
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2008
    Assignee: ADC Telecommunications, Inc.
    Inventors: Joel B. Douglas, Kathleen M. Barnes, Michael J. Franklin, Lonnie E. Hannah, Trevor D. Smith, Steven P. Trebesch
  • Patent number: 7369738
    Abstract: An optical connector for terminating an optical fiber comprises a housing configured to mate with a receptacle and a collar body disposed in the housing. The collar body includes a fiber stub disposed in a first portion of the collar body, the fiber stub including a first optical fiber mounted in a ferrule and having a first end proximate to an end face of the ferrule and a second end. The collar body also includes a mechanical splice disposed in a second portion of the collar body, the mechanical splice configured to splice the second end of the fiber stub to a second optical fiber. The collar body also includes a buffer clamp configured within a third portion of the collar body, the buffer clamp configured to clamp at least a portion of a buffer cladding of the second fiber upon actuation. A fiber distribution unit is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2008
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Donald K. Larson, Paul N. Winberg, Wesley A. Raider, Chansool Park, Wai-Fung Mak, James B. Carpenter, Frank J. Glatzl
  • Patent number: 7366386
    Abstract: A mode field diameter of an optical fiber at a wavelength of 1300 nm is equal to or larger than 5.4 ?m. A light of a wavelength of 1250 nm is propagated through the optical fiber in a single mode. A bending loss of the optical fiber with a bending radius of 1 mm at the wavelength of 1300 nm is equal to or lower than 1 dB/turn.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2008
    Assignee: The Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Akifumi Sako, Ryuichi Sugizaki, Takeshi Yagi
  • Patent number: 7362943
    Abstract: An optical element is formed by co-extruding to have an arrangement of polymer scattering fibers within a polymer matrix. The scattering fibers lie substantially parallel to a first axis. The scattering fibers are arranged at positions across the cross-section of the polymer matrix to scatter light transversely incident on the optical element in a direction substantially orthogonal to the first axis. The positions of the scattering fibers across the cross-section of the optical element may be selected so as to form a two-dimensional photonic crystal structure for light transversely incident on the optical element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2005
    Date of Patent: April 22, 2008
    Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company
    Inventors: Andrew J. Ouderkirk, Olester Benson, Jr., Robert L. Brott, Patrick R. Fleming, Catherine A. Leatherdale, Terence D. Neavin, Diane North