ALL-IN-ONE FIBER OPTIC CONNECTOR INSPECTION PROBE WITH EMBEDDED WEB BROWSER AND WIRELESS TRANSMITTER

摘要

A fiber optic connector endface inspection probe includes a microscope system, a camera module, and an image processing system. While the objective lens of the microscope system is being moved towards and past the focused position for the endface of a mated connector, either by manually turning a focusing knob in one direction or via an automatic transmission mechanism, the camera module continuously takes and sends endface images to the image processing system, wherein a microprocessor continuously monitors the sharpness of the endface images to acquire a focused image and analyze it to make an endface inspection pass/fail judgment, without using an external display to monitor the endface images. The microprocessor further comprises an embedded web browser for converting endface images and inspection report into web pages to be transmitted by a wireless transmitter of the image processing system to external devices for optional monitoring or manual inspection.

主权项

1. A fiber optic endface inspection probe, comprising:
a microscope system including a microscope optical system and a transmission mechanism for moving objective lens in the microscope optical system; an adapting tip disposed at a front side of the microscope optical system for mating with an external fiber optic connector having an endface and an optical fiber embedded therein; a camera module disposed at a rear side of the microscope optical system for taking endface images of the fiber optic connector through the microscope optical system; an image processing system, comprising a microprocessor with a memory, for receiving and analyzing the endface images transmitted from the camera module; a wireless transmitter for optionally transmitting data from the image processing system to an external electronic device; and a multifunctional LED indicator for indicating prevailing operation statuses of the endface inspection probe, wherein the endface inspection probe is configured to be capable of performing the following steps for a fiber optic connector mated with the adapting tip: (a) upon starting an endface inspection run, initializing the memory in the image processing system; (b) while the transmission mechanism is continuously moving the objective lens of the microscope optical system, the camera module continuously taking endface images of the fiber optic connector, and continuously transmitting the endface images to the image processing system; (c) the microprocessor of the image processing system calculating an image sharpness index for each of the endface images received from the camera module; and (d) storing in the memory a stack of endface images and the corresponding image sharpness indexes, and continuously refreshing the memory with newly received endface images and corresponding image sharpness indexes.