Low cost, disposable optical fiber cleaver and a method to cleave an optical fiber

• Main Authors: ALLEN WILLIAM G, HEINZ VIKTOR, THOMPSON ZACHARY M, PEPIN RONALD P, GONZALEZ DAVID, HENDERSON DANIEL H, LURIE EDWARD B
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 02.12.2015
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY; CUTTING; CUTTING-OUT; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GLASS; HAND CUTTING TOOLS; MANUFACTURE, SHAPING, OR SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESSES; METALLURGY; MINERAL OR SLAG WOOL; OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS, OR APPARATUS; OPTICS; PERFORATING; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PHYSICS; PUNCHING; SEVERING; SEVERING BY MEANS OTHER THAN CUTTING; STAMPING-OUT; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TRANSPORTING

According to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a device (100) to cleave an optical fiber (50) is provided. The device includes a base (110) and a cover (130) that is rotatably connected to the base. The base (100) has a work surface and a mandrel (120) disposed in the base and extending above the work surface. An optical fiber (50) can be bent over a radiused surface of the mandrel (120) and tensioned prior to cleaving. A shuttle (140) is disposed in the cover (130) over the mandrel (120), wherein the shuttle includes a flexible abrasive material that is configured to contact the optical fiber and create a flaw on a top surface of the optical fiber to initiate a crack in the optical fiber.