Optical Fiber Connector With Integrated Gratings for Automated Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing optical communication technologies face inefficiencies in providing gratings on optical fibers, leading to low automation levels and high manual dependency in grating preparation and packaging, which affects the overall efficiency and cost of optical fiber connectors and splitters.
Innovation Solution
An optical fiber connector with integrated gratings on enclosed optical fibers, allowing synchronous grating preparation and packaging during connector assembly, reducing the need for external grating protection and ribbon fiber packaging, and incorporating limiting grooves and cavities to enhance stability and reduce glue interference with gratings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If gratings are provided on optical fibers outside the connector housing, then grating preparation and packaging can be performed separately, but this leads to low automation level and high manual dependency
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the grating preparation process with the connector housing assembly process into a single integrated operation. The grating is inscribed on the optical fiber portion that is already enclosed within the housing, eliminating the need for separate grating packaging steps and enabling automated production without manual intervention.
2Reliability
If optical fibers are stripped and packaged separately with gratings, then grating protection can be achieved, but this increases preparation time and reduces efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The optical fiber is placed into the housing before the grating inscription process. This preliminary positioning allows the grating to be inscribed directly on the fiber portion that will be protected by the housing, eliminating subsequent packaging steps and reducing overall preparation time while maintaining grating protection.
3Measurement precision
If gratings are provided on ribbon fiber outside the connector, then wavelength identification can be achieved, but this requires additional packaging boxes that affect preparation efficiency
Solution Approach 1:
The connector housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it protects the optical fiber, provides structural support for the grating inscription, and eliminates the need for separate packaging boxes. The housing becomes a multi-functional component that integrates protection and grating carrier roles, improving preparation efficiency while maintaining wavelength identification capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Improves preparation efficiency and reduces costs by increasing automation, enhancing grating stability, and maintaining wavelength consistency, while avoiding polarization dependence and facilitating easy connection to external devices.
Implementation Method 1
gratings are separately provided on a plurality of optical fibers, and wavelengths of optical signals reflected by gratings on different optical fibers are different
Data Source
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AI summary
An optical fiber connector and an optical splitter are provided, and pertain to the field of optical communication technologies. The optical fiber connector (0) includes a housing (01) and a plurality of optical fibers (02) arranged in parallel. The housing (01) encloses the plurality of optical fibers (02), and end faces at both ends of the optical fibers (02) are exposed outside the housing (01). A part that is of at least one of the plurality of optical fibers (02) and that is enclosed by the housing (01) is provided with a grating (021), and when at least two optical fibers (02) in the at least one optical fiber (02) are provided with gratings, the gratings (021) on the at least two optical fibers (02) are different from each other. A grating (021) on at least one optical fiber (02) is provided on a part that is of the optical fiber (02) and that is enclosed by the optical fiber connector (0). During preparation of the optical fiber connector (0), a process of stripping the optical fiber and packaging the optical fiber connector (0) with the housing (01) needs to be performed. Therefore, an operation of providing the grating (021) on the optical fiber (02) can be implemented during preparation of the optical fiber connector (0), to avoid a problem of low efficiency caused by preparing and packaging the grating (021) in a process other than preparation of the optical fiber connector (0).