US Patent Application 18018705. OPTICAL SWITCH simplified abstract
Contents
OPTICAL SWITCH
Organization Name
NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION
Inventor(s)
Chisato Fukai of Musashino-shi, Tokyo (JP)
Kunihiro Toge of Musashino-shi, Tokyo (JP)
Tomohiro Kawano of Musashino-shi, Tokyo (JP)
OPTICAL SWITCH - A simplified explanation of the abstract
- This abstract for appeared for US patent application number 18018705 Titled 'OPTICAL SWITCH'
Simplified Explanation
The present disclosure describes an optical switch that is designed to have low power consumption and stable optical characteristics. It achieves this by using a simple mechanism that does not require complicated assembly processes. The optical switch includes an optical coupling portion, which consists of a multi-core optical fiber with a central core and multiple outer cores arranged in a circular pattern around the central core. A mirror is placed in front of the end face of the multi-core optical fiber, allowing it to couple one of the outer cores with the central core to create an optical path. The optical switch also includes a cylindrical member with an end face where the mirror is fixed. A rotation mechanism is used to rotate either the multi-core optical fiber or the cylindrical member in the axial direction of the multi-core optical fiber, enabling the switching of the optical path in the optical coupling portion.
Original Abstract Submitted
The present disclosure aims to provide an optical switch that has low power consumption, and can achieve stable optical characteristics to cope with external factors with a mechanism that does not require any complicated assembly process. An optical switch according to the present disclosure characteristically includes: an optical coupling portion including: a multi-core optical fiber that has a central core at the center of an optical fiber and a plurality of outer cores on the circumference of the identical circle centering around the optical fiber in a fiber cross-section; a mirror that is disposed in front of an end face of the multi-core optical fiber, and couples one of the outer cores with the central core to form one optical path; and a cylindrical member that has an end face to which the mirror is fixed; and a rotation mechanism that rotates the multi-core optical fiber or the cylindrical member in an axial direction of the multi-core optical fiber, and switches the optical path in the optical coupling portion.
