Passive Illumination Tool for Optical Fiber Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
The insertion of optical fibers into mechanical splice connectors is challenging due to poor visibility caused by the small size, transparent color, and lack of contrast, especially in low-light conditions, leading to potential damage and increased insertion loss.
Innovation Solution
A passive illumination apparatus with a reflective surface, integrated into an installation tool, reflects light along an insertion axis to illuminate the optical fiber, enhancing visibility and alignment, and optionally includes a contrast surface for improved guidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the optical fiber is made transparent and thin for proper light transmission, then the optical fiber can transmit light effectively, but the visibility of the fiber during insertion becomes poor
Solution Approach 1:
A reflective surface is introduced as an intermediary element that redirects ambient light onto the optical fiber, making the fiber visible to the user during insertion without affecting the fiber's light transmission properties
Solution Approach 2:
The reflective surface is colored to enhance visibility - specifically, a yellow reflective surface is used to create strong contrast against the transparent fiber and surrounding components, making the fiber path clearly visible to the user
2Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If supplemental lighting such as work lights is used to improve fiber visibility, then the visibility of the optical fiber improves, but the equipment size and weight increase
Solution Approach 1:
The installation tool uses ambient light from the environment and redirects it onto the fiber through the reflective surface, making the system self-sufficient without requiring external power sources or additional lighting components
Solution Approach 2:
The patent removes the need for active lighting components (lamps, batteries, power sources) from the installation tool, extracting the illumination function from the tool's hardware and relying instead on passive optical reflection
3Productivity
If the optical fiber is inserted without proper illumination, then the installation process is simpler, but the risk of damaging the fiber and requiring re-work increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reflective surface is pre-installed on the tool to create proper illumination conditions before the fiber insertion begins, ensuring the user has adequate visibility from the start of the process
Solution Approach 2:
The reflective surface acts as a mediator that provides adequate illumination without adding mechanical complexity to the insertion process, maintaining both speed and quality
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
The solution reduces the likelihood of damage to optical fibers during insertion, decreases re-work time, and provides a more efficient installation process by improving visibility and alignment accuracy.
Implementation Method 1
a passive illumination apparatus for improving visibility of an optical fiber includes a trough with at least a portion of the trough having a reflective surface suitable for reflectively transmitting light toward an insertion axis
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a passive illumination apparatus for improving the visibility of an optical fiber by projecting reflected light to passively illuminate an optical fiber for allowing the user improved visibility for inserting the optical fiber into an orifice. One embodiment of the concept uses a passive illumination apparatus having a pattern of one or more colors for reflectively transmitting chromatic light along with an optional contrast surface such as a gray or black stripe for providing a highly contrasting background for the user to view the optical fiber against. The ambient light is transmitted or directed from a reflective surface such as a concave curved region for passively illuminating the optical fiber. The passive illumination apparatus may be used on any suitable device such as a connector installation tool, a splicer, a stripper for an optical fiber coating or a cleaver as desired.