An optical switching means including an optical fiber moving means which is moved by an electromagnetic force, a spring body which has a guide hole through which an optical fiber passes and at least one magnetic body. The magnetic body is fixed on one of its ends and one end is arranged so as to be almost parallel with the moving optical fiber. The moving optical fiber is connected with a fixed optical fiber by moving the magnetic body with an electromagnetic force, thereby effecting optical switching with low attenuation and high accuracy.
A magnetically responsive reed switch assembly having one or two cantilevered reed members arranged to close and open a gap responsive to respective levels of magnetic exposure, supports two optical fiber members in end-to-end closely spaced confrontation with the common axis alignment or misalignment of the fibers being a function of the relative closed or opened gap condition. A convenient method of fabrication involves mounting opposing cantilevered reed members on a substrate which is bent to bring the reed members closer together longitudinally. While so bent, a gap closing magnetic field is generated and a continuous length of optical fiber is bonded to the flat aligned surfaces of the reed assembly. The fiber is scored, broken at scoring, and stress and magnetic field is relieved, whereupon fiber ends shift laterally to produce open circuit condition.
An electrostatic optical fiber switch. An aperture in the switch housing allows for switching movement of the end of a fiber. This aperture is formed in part by a groove in which the depth and width of the groove increases continuously with distance toward the end of the fiber. This forms a smoothly curving surface for restraining and aligning the switching end of the fiber when the electrostatic field is applied. This arrangement substantially reduces the voltage required to operate the switch by prior electrostatic switches.
The method comprises an operation for the centering of the end of an optical fibre (8) with respect to an optical element which comprises an opto-electronic component (3). To this end, a magnetizable ring (7) is secured on the surface of a bottom plate (1) which is connected to the optical element, said ring being attracted, under the influence of a magnetic field, against a ferromagnetic bush (9) which is secured to the end of the fibre (8), said ring thus being positioned so that the light transmission efficiency is optimum and being retained in this position, after which the assembly is provided with an opaque plastics envelope.
A fibre-optical relay for switching optical signals between signal paths contains a fixed first holder (12) with parallel optical fibres (13, 14, 15) and a movable slide (8), similarly with parallel optical fibres (19, 20, 21). The slide can be displaced by an actuating arm (7) at right angles to the axial direction of the fibres from an initial position to a final position situated at a fibre spacing (d) from each other. The fibres (19, 20, 21) on the slide (8) are further arranged in a fixed second holder (16) displaced in the transverse direction of the fibres by half a fibre spacing (d/2).
A switch for coupling and uncoupling a first waveguide from at least a second waveguide characterized by the switch having a member holding the first waveguide in a fixed position in a switch housing and a movable support part for supporting the second waveguide and being movable from a position with the waveguides in a coupling relationship to a position with the waveguides being uncoupled, the support part being connected to the switch housing by at least one flexible web having a bending axis extending parallel to the axis of the second waveguide. Preferably, each of the flexible webs is connected to a second flexible web extending at right angles thereto so that the movable support part can be moved relatiive to the first waveguide in two planes extending at right angles to each other.
