The present disclosure relates to optical fiber alignment devices and systems for use in implementing optical splices between optical fibers. In certain examples, the optical fiber alignment devices and systems can include fiber alignment structures capable of clamping optical fibers in a co-axially aligned orientation.

In a method for aligning a polarization-maintaining optical fiber, in which the optical fiber (7a, 7b, 7c) is held in clamping fashion by means of a clamping device (12, 19, 23), a given rotational position of the optical fiber (7a, 7b, 7c) about the fiber longitudinal axis is detected, and the optical fiber (7a, 7b, 7c) is rotated about the fiber longitudinal axis by means of the clamping device (12, 19, 23), it is proposed that at least one clamping element (13, 14, 20-22, 24-27) of the clamping device (12, 19, 23), said clamping element abutting against the optical fiber (7a, 7b, 7c), is moved relative to at least one further clamping element (13, 14, 20-22, 24-27) of the clamping device (12, 13, 17), said at least one further clamping element likewise abutting against the optical fiber (7a, 7b, 7c), for the purposes of rotating the optical fiber (7a, 7b, 7c). Moreover, a correspondingly configured apparatus is presented.

Provided is an optical fiber holder comprising a holder body and a cover. The holder body has an accommodation section capable of accommodating a plurality of optical fibers. The holder body or the cover has at least one ridge which can be disposed within the accommodation section. When the cover is closed over the holder body, a plurality of sections which can parallelly accommodate the plurality of optical fibers are parallelly formed by the inner surface of the accommodation section, the lower surface of the cover, and the ridge.

Hardened fiber optic connectors having a splice connector assembly are disclosed. The splice connector assembly is attached to an optical fiber of a fiber optic cable by way of a stub optical fiber, thereby connectorizing the hardened connector. In one embodiment, the hardened connector includes an inner housing having a first shell and a second shell for securing a tensile element of the cable and securing the splice connector assembly. Further assembly of the hardened connector has a portion of the inner housing fitting into a shroud of the hardened connector. The first shell comprises first and second alignment fingers that allow the mating the hardened connector with a complimentary device. The first shell can have any suitable alignment portion for mating with a complementary device. The hardened connector may also include features for fiber buckling, sealing, cable strain relief or a pre-assembly of components for ease of installation.

Example embodiments provide a device that includes a rigid block body with a reservoir with two angled walls, a channel dug into a center axis of a bottom of the two angled walls, a stop wall at one end of the channel and an open end at a second end of the channel, a hole at a bottom portion of the stop wall, and a cut-out funnel shaped area on an opposite side of the stop wall from the channel, and the cut-out funnel shaped area funnels into the hole.

Provided is an optical fiber holder comprising a holder body and a cover. The holder body has an accommodation section capable of accommodating a plurality of optical fibers. The holder body or the cover has at least one ridge which can be disposed within the accommodation section. When the cover is closed over the holder body, a plurality of sections which can parallelly accommodate the plurality of optical fibers are parallelly formed by the inner surface of the accommodation section, the lower surface of the cover, and the ridge.

A sealed terminal has a housing, a splice tray, and a faceplate. The housing has an interior compartment and a first perimeter flange defining an opening into the interior compartment. The splice tray is positioned in the interior compartment and is configured to support a module or a cartridge. The faceplate has a plurality of ports and a second perimeter flange extending at a perimeter edge of the faceplate. The sealed terminal also has at least one connection bracket and a gasket for connecting the housing and the faceplate to each other. The connection bracket has a slot receiving the first perimeter flange and the second flange in an abutting position. The gasket is positioned between the first perimeter flange and the second perimeter flange and configured to seal any gap therebetween.

An epoxy-free, high-durability and low-cost plastic optical fiber splice design and fabrication process which meets commercial airplane environmental requirements. The splice design: (1) does not require the use of epoxy to join the end faces of two plastic optical fibers together; (2) incorporates double-crimp rings to provide highly durable pull force for the plastic optical fibers that are joined together; (3) resolves any vibration problem at the plastic optical fiber end faces using a miniature stop inside a splice alignment sleeve; and (4) incorporates a splice alignment sleeve that can be mass produced using precision molding or three-dimensional printing processes.

An optical fiber connection system configured to interconnect a first and second optical fibers is described herein. The connection system comprises a pair of identical bare fiber holders (120) comprising a splice element (160) and a housing (130,140) to hold the splice element (160), wherein the splice element (160) comprises a splice body (161) having a first end and a second end and at least one alignment channel (165) having sloped channel walls (165a, b) formed in a top surface of splice body, the at least one alignment channel (165) extending from the first end to the second end of the splice body, wherein the first and second optical fibers (54) are held along four lines of contact (54a, 54b, 54a, 54b) when the pair of identical bare fiber holders (120) are mated together to optically connect the first and second optical fibers end to end.

An optical connector comprises a first optical waveguide including a plurality of cores each extending along a first direction, the first optical waveguide having a first end face, wherein the cores are arranged on the first end face at positions except a position of a central axis of the first optical waveguide, and a first lens having a second end face and a third end face in the first direction, the first lens having an optical axis extending along the first direction. The first optical waveguide and the first lens are arranged so that the central axis of the first optical waveguide coincides with the optical axis of the first lens. The second end face is positioned facing the first end face, and the third end face extends along a plane perpendicular to an optical axis of the first optical waveguide.