Optical Fiber Head Patent Granted to OMRON CORPORATION

Strategic Insights -

Japanese inventors Yasuyoshi Sawada, Atsushi Teramura, and Masafumi Ijiri have successfully developed an optical fiber head that can highly precisely position and fix an optical fiber to a casing. This innovation aims to simplify the assembly operation, reduce manufacturing costs, and ensure the sufficient holding power of the casing to hold the optical fiber.

Key Takeaways:

  • The optical fiber head includes an optical fiber, a casing, and an optical element, with a crimping portion that accommodates and holds the optical fiber by plastically deforming a part of the crimping portion in the axial direction of the casing.
  • The part of the optical fiber held by the crimping portion has a core wire which includes a core and a clad, and a coating to coat the core wire.
  • The crimping portion is provided for a back end side of the casing and spaced apart, in the axial direction, from a position of the leading end face of the optical fiber.
  • The leading end face of the optical fiber can contact with the back end face of the optical element.
  • The optical element includes a lens, a mirror, a polarizing filter, or an aperture, which can provide fine projections and recessions on the outer peripheral surface to provide a more secure press-fit.
  • The lens can be an injection-molded article with a gate mark of the molding at the part near to the back end face of the lens.
  • The optical fiber head can be manufactured easily at a moderate price, and its configuration can ensure the sufficient holding power of the casing to hold the optical fiber.

Statistics:

  • Patent number: 9207409
  • Publication date: December 8, 2015
  • Filing date: June 26, 2013
  • Inventors: Yasuyoshi Sawada, Atsushi Teramura, and Masafumi Ijiri
  • Assignee: OMRON CORPORATION (Kyoto, JP)

Sources:

  • Sawada, Yasuyoshi; Teramura, Atsushi; Ijiri, Masafumi. Head for Fiber Optic Optoelectronic Switch. U.S. Patent Number 9207409, filed June 26, 2013, and published online on December 8, 2015.
  • Patent URL: http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=9207409.PN.&OS=PN/9207409RS=PN/9207409