Cleaning Stick Guide for Optical Ferrule Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cleaning sticks for optical connectors lack precision in guiding the cleaning tip to the ferrules, leading to incomplete cleaning due to the inability to align with specific types of optical adapters and ferrules, requiring multiple cleaning sticks with different tips for various adapter types.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning stick guide with guide passageways that aligns a universal cleaning stick with ferrules in optical connectors, ensuring accurate and efficient cleaning by coupling with the optical adapter, allowing a single cleaning stick to be used across different types of optical housings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional cleaning sticks are used without guide passageways, then the cleaning stick can be inserted into optical adapters, but the cleaning tip cannot be precisely aligned with ferrules leading to incomplete cleaning
Solution Approach 1:
The guide housing acts as an intermediary device between the cleaning stick and the optical adapter. It provides guide passageways that precisely align the cleaning tip with the ferrules, ensuring accurate cleaning without requiring the cleaning stick itself to be complex or adapter-specific.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple cleaning sticks with different tips are used for various adapter types, then different adapter types can be cleaned, but the number of cleaning sticks and tips increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide housing is designed with adapter-specific guide passageways while the cleaning stick remains universal. A single cleaning stick can be used with multiple guide housings designed for different adapter types (LC, SC, ST, etc.), eliminating the need for multiple cleaning sticks with different tips.
3Reliability
If the cleaning tip is not precisely guided to the ferrule, then the cleaning process is simpler, but cleaning effectiveness is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning system is segmented into two functional components: a universal cleaning stick and an adapter-specific guide housing. The guide housing contains the cleaning stick and provides precise alignment through its guide passageways, while the cleaning stick itself remains simple and easy to operate.
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning stick guide for an optical housing having ferrules therein. The cleaning stick guide includes a guide housing having a proximal end and a distal end. The guide housing includes an insert portion sized and shaped to be inserted into the optical housing. The insert portion defines the distal end of the guide housing. The guide housing includes guide passageways. Each guide passageway extends from the proximal end to the distal end. Each guide passageway is arranged in the guide housing to align with one of the ferrules in the optical housing when the guide housing is inserted into the optical housing. Each guide passageway is sized and shaped to receive a cleaning stick and to guide the cleaning stick to said one ferrule for cleaning the ferrule.