Patents by Inventor Takahiro INABA

Takahiro INABA has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11867871
    Abstract: An optical connector including a ferrule, an outer housing, and a latch is disclosed. The ferrule holds an optical fiber at a front end of the optical connector. The outer housing is located closer to a rear end of the optical connector than the ferrule. The latch is connected to the outer housing and extends from a proximal end toward the front end of the optical connector. The latch includes an engaging part to engage with an external device at a distal end thereof. The latch is configured such that the engaging part is pushed down toward the ferrule. The engaging part includes an engaging main body and an engaging protrusion protruding outwardly from the engaging main body. The engaging protrusion includes an engaging surface to engage with the external device at a rear of the engaging protrusion, and an edge of the engaging surface is chamfered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2024
    Assignee: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Inaba, Yoshikyo Tamekuni, Yoshihiro Takeyama, Mitsumasa Seita
  • Publication number: 20230115918
    Abstract: An optical connector has a front end and a rear end in a first direction. The optical connector includes a ferrule that holds an optical fiber at the front end, and a front housing that accommodates the ferrule. The ferrule includes a flange portion having a regular hexagonal prism shape. The front housing has a through-hole into which the flange portion is inserted. The through-hole includes a first hole portion in which a cross section perpendicular to the first direction is a regular hexagonal shape, and a second hole portion that is continuous from the first hole portion. The second hole portion has a third end close to the front end, and a fourth end close to the rear end. In a cross section of the fourth end perpendicular to the first direction, six contours corresponding respectively to six sides of the third end bulge outward or inward.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro INABA, Yoshikyo TAMEKUNI, Mitsumasa SEITA
  • Publication number: 20230113680
    Abstract: An optical connector includes first and second ferrules, first and second front housings each accommodating a corresponding ferrule of the first and second ferrules inside, an inner housing connected to rear ends of the first and second front housings, an outer housing including a first latch and accommodating the inner housing inside, and a tab disposed in a second direction intersecting a first direction with respect to the outer housing. The inner housing includes second latches disposed on first and second side portions respectively. The first and second side portions arranged in a third direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction. The second latches include respective engaging portions that are engageable with the outer housing. Each of the engaging portions is pushed toward the inside of the inner housing to release a state of engagement between the inner housing and the outer housing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 20, 2022
    Publication date: April 13, 2023
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro INABA, Yoshikyo TAMEKUNI, Mitsumasa SEITA
  • Publication number: 20230028161
    Abstract: In a fiber connection structure with optical connectors according to one embodiment, among m first connector port groups, arrangement orders of colors of a plurality of the optical fibers in (2×j?1)th (j is a natural number satisfying 1?j and 2×j?m) first connector port groups are the same, and among the m first connector port groups, arrangement orders of the colors of the plurality of optical fibers in (2×j)th first connector port groups are the same. The arrangement order of the colors of the plurality of optical fibers in the (2×j)th first connector port group is a reverse order of the arrangement order of the colors of the plurality of optical fibers in the (2×j?1)th first connector port group.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 18, 2020
    Publication date: January 26, 2023
    Applicants: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuya MASUDA, Takahiro INABA, Tomohiko UEDA
  • Patent number: 11500162
    Abstract: A cap for an optical connector adaptor, including: a base portion including a first surface and a second surface provided on an opposite side of the first surface; a grip portion formed by protruding from the first surface of the base portion; a fitting portion configured to protrude from the second surface of the base portion and to be fitted to an optical connector adapter; and a cover portion that is formed over the whole outer periphery of the base portion, in which the second surface includes a contact surface where the optical connector adapter and the cap for an optical connector adaptor contact each other, and in which the cover portion is configured to surround the contact surface from the outer periphery of the base portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2022
    Assignees: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Inaba, Yoshikyo Tamekuni, Daizo Nishioka, Motoyoshi Kimura
  • Publication number: 20220350103
    Abstract: A package for an optical fiber includes: a base portion; a plurality of protruding portions that protrude from a flat surface of the base portion, are arranged along an outer periphery of the base portion, and are configured so that an optical fiber including a connector mounted to at least one end thereof is wound along a part of an outer periphery of each of the protruding portions; a mounting portion to which the connector of the optical fiber is to be mounted; and a plurality of fall-off preventing portions that are formed integrally with the base portion and capable of restricting a position of the optical fiber to be wound over the plurality of protruding portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 16, 2021
    Publication date: November 3, 2022
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Junji FUKUI, Yoshikyo TAMEKUNI, Takahiro INABA, Yoshihiro TAKEYAMA, Daizo NISHIOKA, Hisahiko NARUKAWA, Yuji MATSUMOTO, Shinsuke SATO, Tuan Nghia DUONG
  • Patent number: 11409053
    Abstract: An optical connector including a housing body having a ferrule, an outer housing, a latch, and a tab is disclosed. The latch extends from a proximal end toward a front end of the optical connector and includes an engaging part at a distal end. The tab is placed on an outer side of the latch, movable with respect to the outer housing, and pushes down the engaging part toward the housing body according to movement of the tab. The distal end of the latch floats to space apart from the housing body. A first protrusion is disposed on an inner side of the tab. The optical connector is configured to contact an inner side of the latch with the first protrusion to push down the engaging part toward the housing body with the first protrusion as a fulcrum when the engaging part is engaged with the external device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 9, 2022
    Assignees: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro Inaba, Yoshikyo Tamekuni, Daizo Nishioka, Yoshihiro Takeyama, Mitsumasa Seita
  • Publication number: 20210364704
    Abstract: An optical connector including a ferrule, an outer housing, and a latch is disclosed. The ferrule holds an optical fiber at a front end of the optical connector. The outer housing is located closer to a rear end of the optical connector than the ferrule. The latch is connected to the outer housing and extends from a proximal end toward the front end of the optical connector. The latch includes an engaging part to engage with an external device at a distal end thereof. The latch is configured such that the engaging part is pushed down toward the ferrule. The engaging part includes an engaging main body and an engaging protrusion protruding outwardly from the engaging main body. The engaging protrusion includes an engaging surface to engage with the external device at a rear of the engaging protrusion, and an edge of the engaging surface is chamfered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2021
    Publication date: November 25, 2021
    Applicant: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro INABA, Yoshikyo TAMEKUNI, Yoshihiro TAKEYAMA, Mitsumasa SEITA
  • Publication number: 20210255400
    Abstract: An optical connector including a housing body having a ferrule, an outer housing, a latch, and a tab is disclosed. The latch extends from a proximal end toward a front end of the optical connector and includes an engaging part at a distal end. The tab is placed on an outer side of the latch, movable with respect to the outer housing, and pushes down the engaging part toward the housing body according to movement of the tab. The distal end of the latch floats to space apart from the housing body. A first protrusion is disposed on an inner side of the tab. The optical connector is configured to contact an inner side of the latch with the first protrusion to push down the engaging part toward the housing body with the first protrusion as a fulcrum when the engaging part is engaged with the external device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 15, 2021
    Publication date: August 19, 2021
    Applicants: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro INABA, Yoshikyo TAMEKUNI, Daizo NISHIOKA, Yoshihiro TAKEYAMA, Mitsumasa SEITA
  • Publication number: 20210173152
    Abstract: A cap for an optical connector adaptor, including: a base portion including a first surface and a second surface provided on an opposite side of the first surface; a grip portion formed by protruding from the first surface of the base portion; a fitting portion configured to protrude from the second surface of the base portion and to be fitted to an optical connector adapter; and a cover portion that is formed over the whole outer periphery of the base portion, in which the second surface includes a contact surface where the optical connector adapter and the cap for an optical connector adaptor contact each other, and in which the cover portion is configured to surround the contact surface from the outer periphery of the base portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 4, 2020
    Publication date: June 10, 2021
    Applicants: SUMITOMO ELECTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., SUMITOMO ELECTRIC OPTIFRONTIER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Takahiro INABA, Yoshikyo TAMEKUNI, Daizo NISHIOKA, Motoyoshi KIMURA