(19)
(11)EP 0 874 255 A3

(12)EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88)Date of publication A3:
23.10.2002 Bulletin 2002/43

(43)Date of publication A2:
28.10.1998 Bulletin 1998/44

(21)Application number: 98200850.0

(22)Date of filing:  18.03.1998
(51)International Patent Classification (IPC)7G02B 6/28
(84)Designated Contracting States:
AT BE CH DE DK ES FI FR GB GR IE IT LI LU MC NL PT SE
Designated Extension States:
AL LT LV MK RO SI

(30)Priority: 24.04.1997 US 840005

(71)Applicant: Boeing North American, Inc.
Seal Beach, California 90740-1515 (US)

(72)Inventor:
  • Peck, James L., Jr.
    Huntington Beach, California 90647 (US)

(74)Representative: Land, Addick Adrianus Gosling 
Arnold & Siedsma, Advocaten en Octrooigemachtigden, Sweelinckplein 1
2517 GK Den Haag
2517 GK Den Haag (NL)

  


(54)Fiber optic "T" coupler in-line splitter


(57) An optical coupler for use in fiber optics for splitting light signals (11) into two or more portions (21,81) wherein the intensity of the light on the outgoing optical fibers can be accurately controlled. The optical coupler consists of a sending GRIN lens (12) and two or more adjacent receiving GRIN lenses (22,23) wherein a portion of each receiving GRIN lens has been removed and the receving GRIN lenses are attached along a common border (50) formed by the removed portion of the GRIN lenses.
The collinated end (14) of GRIN lens (12) is covered more by the collimated end (24) of GRIN lens (22) than the collimated end (34) of GRIN lens (32), therefore collimated light (18) enters GRIN lens (22) than GRIN lens (32). The relative percentages of light spit off from the incoming light signal (11) can thus be controlled simply and accurated by moving the GRIN lens (12) relative to the border line (50) of the adjacent GRIN lenses (22) and (32).







Search report