Optical fiber tap utilizing reflector
First Claim
1. A tap for withdrawing light from an intermediate portion of an optical fiber core by passing the light through a side of the optical fiber, comprising:
- a light element having an end surface;
means for maintaining the intermediate portion of the optical fiber bent and disposed in a plane, the end surface of the light element being completely outside the plane;
an optical coupler in contact with an outer surface of the optical fiber;
a light reflector extending traverse to the plane so as to deflect the withdrawn light toward the light element end surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A tap for withdrawing light from an intermediate portion of an optical fiber core by passing light through a side of the optical fiber comprises an optical coupler in contact with an outside surface of an optical fiber which is bent and disposed in a plane. A light reflector extending transverse to the plane deflects the withdrawn light towards the end surface of a light element disposed completely outside the plane. A similar arrangement may be used to inject light to an intermediate portion of an optical fiber. The tap may be used as a read tap to withdraw light, or as a write tap to inject light in optical fiber networks.
37 Citations
17 Claims
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1. A tap for withdrawing light from an intermediate portion of an optical fiber core by passing the light through a side of the optical fiber, comprising:
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a light element having an end surface; means for maintaining the intermediate portion of the optical fiber bent and disposed in a plane, the end surface of the light element being completely outside the plane; an optical coupler in contact with an outer surface of the optical fiber; a light reflector extending traverse to the plane so as to deflect the withdrawn light toward the light element end surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A tap for injecting light into an intermediate portion of an optical fiber core by passing the light through a side of the optical fiber, comprising:
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a light source having an end surface; means for maintaining the intermediate portion of the optical fiber bent and disposed in a plane, the end surface of the light element being completely outside the plane; an optical coupler in contact with an outer surface of the optical fiber; a light reflector extending traverse to the plane so as to deflect at least 20% of the light from the light source end surface toward the optical fiber bent portion, a reflectance of the light reflector being greater than 0.50.
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17. A method of making a tap for coupling light between a light element and an intermediate portion of an optical fiber by passing the light through a side of an optical fiber polymeric coating, comprising the steps of:
molding a substrate so as to include means for maintaining the intermediate portion of the optical fiber bent and disposed in a flat first plane, the substrate being molded so as to form a light reflector for deflecting light between the first plane and a second plane non-parallel to the first plane so as to form a continuous light path between the bent optical fiber portion and an end surface of a light element disposed outside the first plane, the light reflector being formed so as to have a reflectance in excess of 0.80.
Specification