CONTACT OPTICAL CONNECTOR WITH EXTENDED ISOLATED BEAM Russian patent published in 2023 - IPC G02B6/32 G02B6/38 

FIELD: optical systems.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to optical connectors with an extended light beam, intended for interconnecting fibre optic fibres and optical cables in communication systems and distributed optical sensor systems, the elements of which operate in harsh conditions, in particular in water, dirt, dust atmosphere, etc. The claimed optical connector contains two identical optical connectors connected to each other to form an optical contact, each of which consists of a protective housing in which an optical module is fixed, which contains a cover, a base and a precision centring washer installed between them, having coaxial through holes with the possibility of placement of optical channels and connecting elements in them, and in the holes of the precision centring washer, centring bushings are fixed, in which collimator lenses are installed at the base of the optical module. The centring sleeve is made with the ability to install inside it a ferrule with an optical fibre, the end surface of which lies in the focal plane of the collimator lens, while above the surface of the collimator lens, through a gap equal to its focal length, a support plate with windows made of optical material, positioned perpendicular to the optical axis of the collimator lens, is fixed, transparent in the used wavelength range, to which a face plate with windows covered by a transparent elastomeric material is rigidly attached, transparent in the used wavelength range, and that are part of a common elastomeric plate located under the face plate, and the windows of the support plate are in the optical contact with the windows of the face plate and coaxially with the holes of the precision centring washer for installing the centring bushings and with the corresponding holes in the cover. The windows made of elastomeric material are made with the possibility of mechanical deformation with the formation of an optical contact when connecting optical connectors with the formation of an isolated propagation path of the expanded light beam.

EFFECT: increasing the reliability and quality of optical communication in adverse conditions, as well as ensuring the versatility of using an optical connector for use in environments with different refractive indices, in which mechanical impacts on the outer optical surfaces of the lenses of the optical connector are minimized, and the optical properties of the environment do not influence for the operation of the optical connector in any operating conditions, including when operating in harsh conditions of a dusty atmosphere, muddy water, etc.

9 cl, 10 dwg