US-12625322-B2 - Apparatuses and methods for facilitating hollow core fiber splicing evacuation

US12625322B2US 12625322 B2US12625322 B2US 12625322B2US-12625322-B2

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, applying a contaminant-mitigation technique to a chamber, wherein the chamber seats a first end of a first hollow core fiber (HCF) and a second end of a second HCF, cutting a first portion of the first end, resulting in a first exposed end, cutting a second portion of the second end, resulting in a second exposed end, and joining the first exposed end and the second exposed end to generate a single HCF. Other embodiments are disclosed.

Inventors

Ricky Perry
Byoung-Jo J. KIM

Assignees

AT&T INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY I, L.P.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220715

Claims (20)

1 . A device, comprising: a cutting tool; a fusion splicing tool; a pump; a processing system including a processor; and a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: determining a positive pressurization parameter for the pump by a machine learning (ML) process, an artificial intelligence (AI) process, or any combination thereof, wherein the determining is based upon an identification of environmental conditions an identification of a material that is used for one or more fibers, and an identification of an application where the one or more fibers will be used; applying, via the pump, a contaminant-mitigation technique to a chamber, wherein the chamber seats a first end of a first hollow core fiber (HCF) and a second end of a second HCF, and wherein the contaminant-mitigation technique is applied using the positive pressurization parameter, resulting in an increase in pressure in the chamber over atmospheric pressure; cutting, via the cutting tool, a first portion of the first end, resulting in a first exposed end, wherein the cutting of the first portion occurs within the chamber; cutting, via the cutting tool, a second portion of the second end, resulting in a second exposed end, wherein the cutting of the second portion occurs within the chamber; and joining, via the fusion splicing tool, the first exposed end and the second exposed end to generate a single HCF, wherein the fusion splicing tool utilizes an electric arc, a laser, a gas flame, a tungsten filament or any combination thereof.
2 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the contaminant-mitigation technique comprises a use of a pump.
3 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the chamber is coupled to the pump via a conduit.
4 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the applying of the contaminant-mitigation technique comprises controlling the pressurization via the pump.
5 . The device of claim 2 , wherein the applying of the contaminant-mitigation technique comprises applying the positive pressurization via the pump to the chamber, wherein the positive pressurization serves to push or knock-away any potential contaminants proximal to the first end of the first HCF or the second end of the second HCF.
6 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the joining of the first exposed end and the second exposed end comprises applying a fusion splicing technique.
7 . The device of claim 6 , wherein the applying of the fusion splicing technique uses a source of heat, and wherein the source of heat comprises: an electric arc, a laser, a gas flame, a tungsten filament through which a current is passed, or any combination thereof.
8 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the first end includes a first seal and the second end includes a second seal.
9 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the applying of the contaminant-mitigation technique occurs prior to the cutting of the first portion and prior to the cutting of the second portion.
10 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise: disengaging the contaminant-mitigation technique subsequent to the joining.
11 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the contaminant-mitigation technique is applied by further using a temperature parameter that is determined by the ML process, the AI process, or any combination thereof.
12 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the ML process, the AI process, or any combination thereof takes into account a first material of the first HCF, a second material of the second HCF, or a combination thereof.
13 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the operations further comprise identifying an application where the single HCF is used.
14 . The device of claim 1 , wherein the chamber comprises a jig that includes the cutting tool and the fusion splicing tool.
15 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor that is communicatively coupled to a cutting tool, a fusion splicing tool, and a pump, to facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising: determining a positive pressurization parameter for the pump by a machine learning (ML) process, an artificial intelligence (AI) process, or any combination thereof, wherein the determining is based upon an identification of environmental conditions an identification of a material that is used for one or more fibers, and an identification of an application where the one or more fibers will be used; applying, via the pump, a contaminant-mitigation technique to a chamber, wherein the chamber seats a first end of a first hollow core fiber (HCF) and a second end of a second HCF, and wherein the contaminant-mitigation technique is applied using the positive pressurization parameter, resulting in an increase in pressure in the chamber over atmospheric pressure; cutting, via the cutting tool, a first portion of the first end, resulting in a first exposed end, wherein the cutting of the first portion occurs within the chamber; cutting, via the cutting tool, a second portion of the second end, resulting in a second exposed end, wherein the cutting of the second portion occurs within the chamber; and joining, via the fusion splicing tool, the first exposed end and the second exposed end to generate a single HCF, wherein the fusion splicing tool utilizes an electric arc, a laser, a gas flame, a tungsten filament or any combination thereof.
16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the operations further comprise: joining the first exposed end and the second exposed end to form an HCF from a first part of the first HCF and a second part of the second HCF.
17 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein: the operations further comprise joining the first exposed end and the second exposed end to one another; the joining comprises a fusion splicing technique that uses a source of heat; and the source of heat comprises a laser.
18 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the chamber comprises a jig that includes the cutting tool and the fusion splicing tool.
19 . A method, comprising: determining, by a processing system of a device, a positive pressurization parameter for a pump of the device, wherein the determining is by a machine learning (ML) process, an artificial intelligence (AI) process, or any combination thereof, wherein the determining is based upon an identification of environmental conditions an identification of a material that is used for one or more fibers, and an identification of an application where the one or more fibers will be used; applying, via the pump of the device, a contaminant-mitigation technique to a chamber, wherein the chamber seats a first end of a first hollow core fiber (HCF) and a second end of a second HCF, and wherein the contaminant-mitigation technique is applied using the positive pressurization parameter, resulting in an increase in pressure in the chamber over atmospheric pressure; cutting, via a cutting tool of the device, a first portion of the first end, resulting in a first exposed end, wherein the cutting of the first portion occurs within the chamber; cutting, via the cutting tool of the device, a second portion of the second end, resulting in a second exposed end, wherein the cutting of the second portion occurs within the chamber; and joining, via a fusion splicing tool of the device, the first exposed end and the second exposed end to generate a single HCF, wherein the fusion splicing tool utilizes an electric arc, a laser, a gas flame, a tungsten filament or any combination thereof.
20 . The method of claim 19 , wherein the applying of the contaminant-mitigation technique comprises: applying positive pressurization to the chamber via the pump.

Description

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE The subject disclosure relates to apparatuses and methods for facilitating hollow core fiber (HCF) splicing evacuation. BACKGROUND As the world increasingly becomes connected via vast communication networks and systems and via various communication devices, additional opportunities are created/generated to provision services to users (e.g., subscribers). A maturation and evolution in technology have enabled data-rich services to be realized with relatively low levels of latency. For example, such a maturation/evolution has enabled high-definition, streaming video with relatively low levels of latency, resulting in a high-quality user experience. Fiber has increasingly been used as a medium or trunk in a conveyance of data from a source (e.g., a plant or office) to a destination (e.g., an end-user's home) due to its reliability and high data-carrying capacity/bandwidth. Conventionally, solid core fiber (SCF) was used as a medium for transferring data. Thereafter, HCF has gained traction as a medium between a source and destination. Relative to SCF, HCF features lower latency at the expense of greater loss over a same/given distance. Thus, depending on the application or environment at hand, tradeoffs may be made between latency and loss to select between SCF and HCF. Relative to SCF, HCF is more vulnerable to contaminants (e.g., dust, dirt, oils, particulates, etc.) that may get lodged or trapped inside the fiber core. The contaminants may impede propagation and degrade performance, and may contribute to interference, noise, or loss. Moreover, if the contaminants are relatively small in dimension (e.g., less than a diameter of an HCF strand), they may tend to be mobile or move within an HCF strand, which can make their detection and/or isolation within the strand difficult. Typically, individual HCF strands are produced and distributed with the ends of the HCF sealed in an effort to prevent an introduction of contaminants during shipping, handling, etc. However, once the HCF is ready to be utilized/deployed the ends are severed/cut. This action of cutting exposes the strands to contaminants. Even using best practices (e.g., mandating a policy of a “clean work area”), there is no guarantee that the best practices will result in a work area that is free of contaminants. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein: FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example hollow core fiber (HCF) in accordance with aspects of this disclosure. FIGS. 2B-2C are diagrams of systems in accordance with various aspects of this disclosure. FIG. 2D depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a computing environment in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a mobile network platform in accordance with various aspects described herein. FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of a communication device in accordance with various aspects described herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrative embodiments for reducing the likelihood of contaminants impacting a use of hollow core fibers (HCFs). Other embodiments are described in the subject disclosure. One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include, in whole or in part, applying a contaminant-mitigation technique to a chamber, wherein the chamber seats a first end of a first hollow core fiber (HCF) and a second end of a second HCF; cutting a first portion of the first end, resulting in a first exposed end; cutting a second portion of the second end, resulting in a second exposed end; and joining the first exposed end and the second exposed end to generate a single HCF. One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include, in whole or in part, applying at least one of pressurization or a vacuum to a chamber; subsequent to the applying, cutting a first portion of a first end of a first HCF in the chamber, resulting in a first exposed end; and subsequent to the applying, cutting a second portion of a second end of a second HCF in the chamber, resulting in a second exposed end. One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include, in whole or in part, applying, by a processing system including a processor, a contaminant-mitigation technique to a housing that seats a first end of a first HCF and a second end of a second HCF, wherein the first end and the second end each la