Optical fiber interconnection devices and systems using same

• US 7,756,371 B1
• Filed: 01/30/2009
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/30/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corning Optical Communications LLC (Corning Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Corning Cable Systems LLC (Corning Incorporated)
• Inventors: Burnham, William R., Dean, David L. Jr., Cooke, Terry L., Klavuhn, Tory A., Ugolini, Alan W.
• Primary Examiner(s): LEPISTO, RYAN A
• Application Number:
  US12/362,508
• Publication Number:
  US 20100195955A1
• Time in Patent Office: 529 Days
• Field of Search: 385/24, 385/51, 398/56
• US Class Current: 385/51
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3608 Fibre wiring boards, i.e. where fibres are embedded or attached in a pattern on or to a substrate, e.g. flexible sheets optical ribbon cables in support members G02B6/4401
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/3897 Connectors fixed to housings, casing, frames or circuit boards G02B6/44528 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 6/4472 Manifolds

Abstract

Optical fiber interconnection devices, which can take the form of a module, are disclosed that include an array of optical fibers and multi-fiber optical-fiber connectors, for example, a twenty-four-port connector or multiples thereof, and three eight-port connectors or multiples thereof. The array of optical fibers is color-coded and is configured to optically interconnect the ports of the twenty-four-port connector to the three eight-port connectors in a manner that preserves transmit and receive polarization. In one embodiment, the interconnection devices provide optical interconnections between twenty-four-fiber optical connector configurations to eight-fiber optical connector configurations, such as from twenty-four-fiber line cards to eight-fiber line cards, without having to make structural changes to cabling infrastructure. In one aspect, the optical fiber interconnection devices provide a migration path from duplex optics to parallel optics.

Claims

1. An optical fiber interconnection device, comprising:

a twenty-four-port connector having ports P₂₄(i) for i=1 to 24, wherein ports i=1 to i=12 are located in a first row of the twenty-four-port connector and ports i=13 to i=24 are located in second row of the twenty-four-port connector;

first, second and third eight-port connectors respectively having ports 1P₈(j), ports 2P₈(j) and ports 3P₈(j) for j=1 to 8; and

an array of optical fibers configured to connect the ports as follows for j=1 to 8 (where {a1, b1 . . . }{a2, b2 . . . } denotes connecting a1 to a2, b1 to b2, etc);

i) {1 P₈(j)}{P₂₄(1), P₂₄(23), P₂₄(3), P₂₄(21), P₂₄(5), P₂₄(19), P₂₄(7), P₂₄(17)};

ii) {2P₈(j)}{P₂₄(9), P₂₄(15), P₂₄(11), P₂₄(13), P₂₄(2), P₂₄(24), P₂₄(4), P₂₄(22)}; and

iii) {3P₈(j))}{P₂₄(6), P₂₄(20), P₂₄(8), P₂₄(18), P₂₄(10), P₂₄(16), P₂₄(12), P₂₄(14)}.

2. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 1, wherein at least one of the eight-port connectors has twelve ports, and wherein four of the twelve ports are not used.

3. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 1, wherein the optical fibers include first and second sets of twelve color-coded fibers.

4. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 1, further including a twenty-four-fiber fiber optic cable section having first and second ends respectively optically connected to the array of optical fibers and the twenty-four-port connector.

5. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 4, wherein the fiber optic cable comprises an optical fiber ribbon.

6. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 4, further comprising a fiber-arranging unit at the first end of the fiber optic cable section that connects the array of optical fibers to the twenty-four-port connector.

7. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 1, wherein for n integer and n≧

2, the device includes n sets of twenty-four port connectors and n sets of the three eight-port connectors.

8. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 1, wherein the device includes:

an enclosure that defines an interior region and that contains the array of optical fibers, and wherein the eight-port connectors and twenty-four port connector are connected to the enclosure.

9. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 8, wherein the enclosure comprises a fiber cable jacket.

10. An optical fiber interconnection system, comprising:

the optical fiber interconnection device of claim 1; and

at least one twenty-four-fiber fiber optic cable connected to the device at the twenty-four-port connector.

11. The optical fiber interconnection system of claim 10, further comprising:

at least one twenty-four-fiber module having twenty-four single ports SF₂₄(1) through SF₂₄(24) and optically connected to the at least one twenty-four-fiber fiber optic cable so as to be optically connected to ports 1P₈(j), 2P₈(j) and 3P₈(j) in a polarization-preserving configuration.

12. The optical fiber interconnection system of claim 1, wherein the array of optical fibers comprises

at least a first set of twelve first optical fibers having color-code and optically connected to ports P₂₄(j) for j=1 to 23 for odd numbered ports;

at least a second set of twelve second optical fibers having said color code and optically connected to ports P₂₄(j) for j=2 to 24 for even numbered ports.

13. A method of optically interconnecting a twenty-four-port connector having ports P₂₄(i) for i=1 to 24, to first, second and third eight-port connectors having respective ports 1P₈(j), 2P₈(j) and 3P₈(j) for j=1 to 8, the method comprising:

wherein ports i=1 to i=12 are located in a first row of the twenty-four-port connector and ports i=13 to i=24 are located in second row of the twenty-four-port connector; and

configuring an array of optical fibers to connect the ports as follows, (where {a1, b1 . . . }{a2, b2 . . . } denotes a1 to a2;

b1 to b2;

etc);

i) {1P₈(j)}{P₂₄(1), P₂₄(23), P₂₄(3), P₂₄(21), P₂₄(5), P₂₄(19), P₂₄(7), P₂₄(17)};

ii) {2P₈(j)}{P₂₄(9), P₂₄(15), P₂₄(11), P₂₄(13), P₂₄(2), P₂₄(24), P₂₄(4), P₂₄(22)}; and

iii) {3P₈(j)}{1P₂₄(6), P₂₄(20), P₂₄(8), P₂₄(18), P₂₄(10), P₂₄(16), P₂₄(12), P₂₄(14)}.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising enclosing the array of optical fibers in an enclosure.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

optically connecting the array of optical fibers and the twenty-four-port connector via a section of a twenty-four-fiber fiber optic cable.

16. The method of claim 13, further comprising for n integer and n≧

2, providing n twenty-four-port connectors and n sets of the three eight-port connectors so as to repeat said port configuration n times.

17. The method of claim 13, further including:

optically connecting at least one twenty-four-fiber module having twenty-four single ports SF₂₄(1) through SF₂₄(24) to ports 1P₈(j), 2P₈(j) and 3P₈(j) in a polarization-preserving configuration.

18. An optical fiber interconnection device, comprising:

an enclosure defining an interior region;

at least one twenty-four-port connector operably connected to the enclosure and respectively having ports P₂₄(i) for i=1 to 24, wherein ports i=1 to i=12 are located in a first row of the twenty-four-port connector and ports i=13 to i=24 are located in second row of the twenty-four-port connector;

at least one set of first, second and third eight-port connectors operably connected to the enclosure and respectively having ports 1P₈(j), 2P₈(j) and 3P₈(j) for j=1 to 8;

at least a first set of twelve first optical fibers having a color-code and contained within the interior region and optically connected to ports P₂₄(i) for i=1 to 23 for odd numbered ports;

at least a second set of twelve second optical fibers having said color code and contained within the interior region and optically connected to ports P₂₄(i) for i=2 to 24 for even numbered ports;

wherein the at least first and second sets of color-coded optical fibers are configured to connect the ports as follows, for j=1 to 8 (where {a1, b1 . . . }{a2, b2 . . . } denotes connecting a1 to a2, b1 to b2, etc);

i) {1P₈(j)}{P₂₄(1), P₂₄(23), P₂₄(3), P₂₄(21), P₂₄(5), P₂₄(19), P₂₄(7), P₂₄(17)};

ii) {2P₈(j)}{P₂₄(9), P₂₄(15), P₂₄(11), P₂₄(13), P₂₄(2), P₂₄(24), P₂₄(4), P₂₄(22)}; and

iii) {3P₈(j)}{P₂₄(6), P₂₄(20), P₂₄(8), P₂₄(18), P₂₄(10), P₂₄(16), P₂₄(12), P₂₄(14)}.

19. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 18, further comprising:

at least one twenty-four-fiber module having twenty-four single ports SF₂₄(1) through SF₂₄(24) and optically connected to ports 1P₈(j), 2P₈(j) and 3P₈(j) in a polarization-preserving configuration.

20. The optical fiber interconnection device of claim 18, further comprising a fiber-arranging unit configured to optically connect the first and second sets of color-coded fibers from ports 1P₈(j), 2P₈(j) and 3P₈(j) to ports P₂₄(i).