MECHANICAL SPLCIE PROTECTIVE SLEEVE FOR SECURING A SPLICE AREA FORMED BY SPLICING A PLURAL OF OPTICAL FIBERS
A fiber optic connector is spliced to an optical fiber provided by a sheathed optical fiber and an optical fiber pigtail. The connector houses a protective sleeve that secures the splice area from damage due to movement of optical fibers during connecter use. The protective sleeve retains the sheathed optical fiber at a first end and secures the protective sleeve to a distal end of a ferrule flange assembly at a second end.
This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application 62/744,245 filed on Oct. 11, 2018, titled “Protective Assembly for Splicing Optic Strands”, which is fully incorporated by reference into this application.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to fiber optic connectors, and more particularly, to a protective housing to hold one or more spliced optical fibers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONModern high capacity optical systems often utilize fiber optic connectors for inter-system connection. As there are multiple connection points in an optical path, and a spring is typically required to bias forward a ferrule assembly, there is a need to simplify assembly of the fiber optic strands when splicing or connecting a fiber optic connector pigtail or short fiber to an optical fiber from a fiber optic cable or to another fiber optic connector.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONAccording to the present invention, a fiber optic connector comprises a ferrule flange assembly formed by a ferrule, a ferrule locking flange, an inner flange and a flange retention stub. The ferrule flange assembly is locked within a fiber optic connector housing. The ferrule has an optical fiber along a longitudinal axis of the fiber optic connection with an optical fiber pigtail extending beyond a distal end of the flange retention stub. The inner flange and the flange retention stub form a circumferential guide opening that receives a retention flange at a second end of the protective sleeve. The second end of the protective sleeve is secured about the flange retention stub. A second optical fiber from a sheathed optical fiber is spliced to the optical fiber pigtail, and the spliced section or area is secured within a portion of the longitudinal channel formed within the protective sleeve.
Embodiments of the invention are described in more detail hereinafter with reference to the drawings, in which:
The following description describes protecting splice points for splicing two fiber optic connectors together, or a fiber optic cable and a fiber optic connector together to form a network of optical devices. Splicing is performed in the factory called factory terminated connector or in the field, called field terminated connector. In the field can be in an office building. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that modifications, including additions and/or substitutions may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention; however, the disclosure is written to enable one skilled in the art to practice the teachings herein without undue experimentation.
An ordinarily skilled person in the art can appreciate that by following the principal of the present invention, a version of the adapter for mating a multi-fiber optic ferrule connector with another multi-fiber optic ferrule connector can be derived without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention described herein are related to multi-fiber optic applications, the present invention can be adapted to single fiber optic applications. Specific details may be omitted so as not to obscure the invention; however, the disclosure is written to enable one skilled in the art to practice the teachings herein without undue experimentation.
The foregoing description of the present invention has been provided for the purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations will be apparent to the practitioner skilled in the art.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, thereby enabling others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications that are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Claims
1. A protective sleeve for protecting a fiber splice point, comprising:
- a main body portion having an open channel on one side of the protective sleeve along a longitudinal axis of the sleeve;
- a first end of the protective sleeve with a retention collar configured to secure a first optical fiber;
- a second end further comprising a retention flange having a locking tab; and wherein
- the locking tab secures the protective sleeve to a ferrule flange retention stub.
2. The protective sleeve of claim 1, wherein the protective sleeve has a chamfered guide surface for aiding in the insertion of the protective sleeve within a circumferential guide opening configured to connect the protective sleeve with a ferrule assembly within a first connector.
3. The protective sleeve of claim 1, wherein the first end further comprises a retention collar sized to secure a sheathed optical fiber containing the first optical fiber.
4. The protective sleeve of claim 1, wherein a pigtail fiber of a ferrule is spliced to the first optical fiber of a sheathed optic fiber.
5. The protective sheath of claim 1, wherein the ferrule flange retention stub further comprises a recess that accepts the locking tab to secure the protective sleeve to the ferrule flange retention stub.
6. The protective sleeve of claim 5, wherein the ferrule flange retention stub is at a distal of a ferrule locking flange forming a ferrule flange assembly that is secured within a connector housing using the ferrule locking flange.
7. The protective sleeve of claim 5, wherein the protective sleeve may be rotated about the longitudinal axis of the protective sleeve.
8. The protective sleeve of claim 6, wherein a bias spring is positioned about the protective sleeve on a distal side of the ferrule locking flange, and further wherein the spring biases the ferrule flange assembly forward during use.
9. The protective sleeve of claim 5, wherein the second end further comprises an inner stop face that stops the travel of the protective sleeve onto the ferrule flange retention stub so the locking tab will mate with the ferrule flange retention stub recess.
10. A ferrule flange assembly, comprising:
- a ferrule locking flange for securing the ferrule flange assembly within a fiber optic connector housing;
- a ferrule at a proximal end of the ferrule locking flange,
- the ferrule has at least one optical fiber pigtail protruding from a distal end of the ferrule flange assembly;
- an inner flange and a flange retention stub concentric with each other and forming a circumferential opening therebetween at the distal end of the ferrule locking flange;
- the circumferential guide opening accepts a second end of a protective sleeve; and wherein
- the protective sleeve protects a fiber splice section formed by splicing the optical fiber pigtail and an optical fiber provided from a first end of the protective sleeve.
11. The ferrule flange assembly of claim 10, wherein the splice is formed using selected from at least one of heat, fusion, mechanical, or chemical.
Type: Application
Filed: May 11, 2021
Publication Date: Aug 26, 2021
Inventors: Yim WONG (Kowloon), Jin Jian FENG (Shanghai)
Application Number: 17/317,441