RIBBON SPLICING TOOLS AND METHODS

Abstract

A ribbon handler assembly holds an optical fiber ribbon during thermal stripping, cleaving and mass fusion splicing. The handler assembly includes a body defining a ribbon channel in an upper surface, an array section of fiber grooves extending longitudinally a predefined length from one end of the ribbon channel, wherein a nominal spacing of each individual groove of the array section of fiber grooves is greater than a nominal fiber spacing of fibers in an optical fiber ribbon configured to be placed into the ribbon channel.

Claims

1. A ribbon handler assembly for holding an optical fiber ribbon during thermal stripping, cleaving and mass fusion splicing, the handler device comprising: a body defining a ribbon channel in an upper surface; and an array section of fiber grooves extending longitudinally a predefined length from one end of the ribbon channel, wherein a nominal spacing of each individual groove of the array section of fiber grooves is greater than a nominal fiber spacing of optical fibers in the optical fiber ribbon configured to be placed into the ribbon channel.

2. The ribbon handler assembly of claim 1, further comprising a first door rotatably connected to the body, wherein the first door has a first width equal to or less than the predefined length of the array section of fiber grooves.

3. The ribbon handler assembly of claim 2, further comprising a second door rotatably connected to the body, wherein the second door has a second width that is wider than the first width and abuts or closely seats adjacent to the second door when both doors are closed against the upper surface of the body.

4. The ribbon handler assembly of claim 3, further comprising a magnet, wherein the first door and the second door are closed when abutting against directly against the magnet.

5. The ribbon handler assembly of claim 4, wherein the first door contacts the magnet with an audible click when each of the individual optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon are seated properly in the respective individual groove of the array section of fiber grooves.

6. The ribbon handler assembly of claim 4, wherein a tactile sensation is created as the first door seats against the magnet when each of the individual optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon are seated properly in the respective individual groove of the array section of fiber grooves.

7. The ribbon handler assembly of claim 4, wherein a visual cue is created as the first door seats against the magnet when each of the individual optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon flare out to seat properly in the respective individual groove of the array section of fiber grooves.

8. The ribbon handler of claim 1, wherein a nominal spacing of each individual groove of the array section of fiber grooves is set to the nominal spacing required to fit the fibers into V-grooves designed for the spacing of a 250 μm ribbon.

9. The ribbon handler of claim 8, wherein the nominal fiber spacing of optical fibers in the optical fiber ribbon is equal to that for a 200 μm optical fiber ribbon.

10. A method of splicing a first optical fiber ribbon having a first nominal spacing using a splice machine with a V-groove having a second nominal spacing different from the first nominal spacing, the method comprising: placing an optical fiber ribbon into a handler assembly such that the ribbon extends through a ribbon channel formed in an upper surface of the handler assembly and an end portion of the ribbon extends out of an end of handler assembly; closing a first door and a second door of the handler assembly and placing the handler assembly into a thermal stripper and thermally stripping the end portion of the ribbon to expose a first set of fibers; cleaning the exposed first set of fibers; removing the handler assembly from the thermal stripper; opening the second door only; retracting the ribbon away from the first door such that the exposed and stripped first set of fibers are pulled into the handler assembly under the first door; and ceasing retracting the ribbon upon engagement of one of a tactile, audible or visual indication that the first door closed completely.

11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: placing the handler assembly into a cleaver and cleaving the fibers to length for the mass fusion splice.

12. The method of claim 10, further comprising: placing the handler assembly into a splice machine such that the cleaved ends of the exposed first set of fibers will proceed into each of their respective V grooves in the splice machine.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the audible indication occurs when the first door contacts a magnet with an audible click as each of the individual optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon are seated properly in a respective individual groove of an array section of fiber grooves in the handler assembly.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein the tactile indication occurs when the first door seats against a magnet as each of the individual optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon fall properly into a respective individual groove of an array section of fiber grooves in the handler assembly.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the visual indication is created when each of the individual optical fibers of the optical fiber ribbon flare out to seat properly in a respective individual groove of an array section of fiber grooves.

16. The method of claim 12, wherein the handler assembly has pin holes that align with pins on the splice machine to properly seat the handler assembly in the splice machine.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] FIG. 1 is a cross sectional view comparison of a conventional 250 μm 12 fiber ribbon to a 200 μm 12 fiber ribbon as aligned for splicing, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0012] FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views and associated parameter charts for dimensions of fiber separation of a 200 μm 12 fiber ribbon using handler assemblies having one or two center bars for separation, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 3A is an illustration of splice handler assembly, in accordance with aspects of the present invention.

[0014] FIG. 3B is an illustration the splice handler assembly of FIG. 3A in a position of use, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0015] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of aspects of the splice handler assembly shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIG. 5 is an illustration of another splice handler assembly, in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Referring to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a ribbon fiber handler assembly, shown as handler assembly 10, is shown according to aspects of the present disclosure. The handler assembly 10 includes a body 12, having an upper surface 14 that defines a fiber ribbon channel 16 or region that extends a longitudinal length of the body 12 and within which an optical fiber ribbon intended for splicing may be placed. The body 12 may be generally rectangular in shape and have one or more pin holes 18 for seating the handler assembly 10 into a splice machine (not shown).

[0018] Although generally described herein for splicing of twelve fiber ribbons, both standard and rollable ribbons, the handler assembly 10 may be dimensioned to accommodate other ribbon sizes as well (e.g., 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 32 fiber ribbons). The body 12 may be comprised of a polymer material that is injection molded or machined to have the properties and dimensions described herein. However, the body 12 may be comprised of any suitable material.

[0019] The body 12 of the handler assembly 10 may be machined to seat a hinge pin 20 for rotatably mounting a first door 22 and a second door 24. As shown in FIG. 3B and enlarged in FIG. 4, the ribbon channel 16 defines an array section of fiber grooves 26 at a distal end of the channel 16. The array of fiber grooves 26 may be formed such that each groove 28 of the array of fiber grooves 26 establishes a nominal spacing of the fibers that is larger than the nominal spacing of the fibers in the ribbon. For example, the handler assembly 10 may have an array of fiber grooves 26 with a nominal spacing of each groove formed to separate the fibers of a 200 μm ribbon to match what would be the nominal spacing of a 250 μm ribbon.

[0020] The array section of fiber grooves 26 may be formed to extend a predetermined length from one end of the body 12. The first door 22 may be sized to have a width W1 that substantially equals the longitudinal length of the array section of fiber grooves 26 formed in the ribbon channel 16. The second door 24 may have a width W2 that is wider than the width W1 of the first door 22 and is generally formed to abut or closely seat adjacent to the second door 24 when both doors are closed against the upper surface 14 of the body 12. The first door 22 and the second door 24 may be formed of a suitable metallic material such that each door is attracted to and couples with a magnet 30 that is seated in a magnet channel 32 formed in the upper surface 14 of the body 12. The magnet 30 sits substantially flush with the upper surface 14 of the body 12 such that when the first door 22 and/or the second door 24 is placed into a closed position (i.e., covering the ribbon channel 16), the free end of the respective door couples to and may be held closed by the magnet 30. As shown in FIG. 5, a first pad 34 and a second pad 36 made of rubber or any other suitable material may be coupled (e.g., adhesively applied) to the first door 22 and the second door 24, respectively. The first pad 34 and the second pad 36 may assist in a smoother closing of each door and are sized to enhance the tactile feel and function of each door as described in additional detail below.

[0021] The handler assembly 10′ of FIG. 5 differs from the handler assembly 10 shown in FIGS. 1-4 primarily in the length of the array section 26. In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, shortening the groove length of the array section 26 may facilitate a longer cleaved fiber length for the cleaving operation, making the overall operation described below easier in some cases.

[0022] In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, a method of splicing a first optical fiber ribbon having a first nominal spacing different from a second nominal spacing of the V-grooves in a splicing machine includes thermally stripping an end portion of the first optical fiber ribbon to expose a first set of optical fibers. This may be done by, for example, placing a 200 μm ribbon into the handler assembly such that a portion of the ribbon extends out of the end of handler assembly 10 (same method when using handler assembly 10′) housing the first door 22 and the second door 24 for a full length of a thermal stripper bed. The first door 22 and the second door 24 are closed and the coatings are stripped from the ribbon using the thermal stripper. The exposed fibers may be cleaned using known cleaning procedures.

[0023] The handler assembly with the 200 μm ribbon may be removed from the thermal stripper. With the exposed fibers of the ribbon extending from the handler assembly 10 or 10′, the second door is opened. With a finger lightly pressed against or near the closed small door, the ribbon may be retracted (i.e., pulled longitudinally away from the first door 22) such that the exposed and stripped fibers are pulled into the handler assembly 10 under the first door 22. When the center of the outer fibers, e.g., fibers 1 and 12 in a twelve-fiber ribbon, reach the their respective grooves 18 as the fibers are being slid along the tapered groove array section 16 machined into the handler body 12, all of the individual fibers will fall into their respective grooves 18 and be seated. The fibers are thus flared out into the nominal spacing required to fit into the V-grooves designed for the spacing of a 250 μm ribbon. As the fibers fall down into their respective grooves during this seating action, the first door 22 is permitted to fully close, which creates an audible click when the first door 22 seats against the magnet 30. Moreover, with a finger lightly pressed on or resting near the first door 22, a tactile sensation is created by the closing action when the fibers become seated in the individual grooves 18. Furthermore, the sudden move of the fibers from a parallel position to flared position provides a visual cue that the fibers are seated. Thus, three sensual feedback mechanisms are engaged to note that the fibers are flared and ready for cleaving.

[0024] With fibers still extending from the handler assembly 10, the handler assembly may be placed into a cleaver and the fibers cleaved to length for the mass fusion splice. The handler assembly 10 with the cleaved fibers may now be placed into a splice machine with a 250 μm V-groove spacing and spliced normally. The cleaved ends of the flared 200 μm fibers will proceed into each of their respective 250 μm spaced V grooves as the handler is placed into the handler base within the splice machine. In addition to using the pin holes 18 to seat the handler assembly 10 into the splice machine, other grooves or detents, for example, may be machined into the handler assembly 10 as appropriate to ensure proper seating of the handler assembly 10 in a particular splice machine.

[0025] To achieve attenuation performance, aspects of the present disclosure may include cables with high performing 200 um fibers, such as fibers with improved microbend performance as disclosed in U.S. Patent Application Ser. No. 62/341,369, which is incorporated herein.

[0026] The present inventions have thus been described with reference to the exemplary embodiments, which embodiments are intended to be illustrative of inventive concepts rather than limiting. Persons of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that variations and modifications of the foregoing embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the appended claims.