Claims
- 1. An optical fiber assembly kit comprising:
a ferrule assembly having at least one bore hole to receive an optical fiber and a first contact surface; a positioning member having a second contact surface and an aperture adapted to receive said ferrule assembly, wherein said first contact surface and said aperture are configured to form a first interface in which a first radial position relationship between said ferrule assembly and said position member is maintained; and a housing having an interior cavity adapted for receiving said position member and said ferrule assembly, said housing and said second surface of said position member are configured to form a second interface such that a second radial position relationship between said position member and said housing is maintained, wherein one of said first or second radial position relationships is adjustable in increments less than a quarter rotation, and the other radial position relationship is predetermined, and wherein said one radial position relationship has an interference fit interface.
- 2. The kit of claim 1, wherein said increments are less than 10°.
- 3. The kit of claim 1, wherein the interface associated with said one radial position relationship has no predetermined radial position relationships.
- 4. The kit of claim 3, wherein said one radial position relationship is essentially infinitely adjustable.
- 5. The kit of claim 1, wherein said first radial position relationship is said one radial position relationship.
- 6. The kit of claim 5, wherein said first interface comprises textured surfaces which minimizes sliding therebetween.
- 7. The kit of claim 6, wherein said first contact surface is a splined surface and said aperture is deformable around the splines.
- 8. The kit of claim 6, wherein said first contact surface has a polygonal cross section and defines a plurality of edges, and said aperture is deformable about said edges.
- 9. The kit of claim 8, wherein the second interface comprises a predetermined keyed fit.
- 10. The kit of claim 1, wherein the interface of said other radial position relationship comprises a predetermined keyed fit.
- 11. The kit of claim 10, wherein said second contact surface comprises key protrusions that interact with the housing
- 12. The kit of claim 11, wherein said housing has a substantially square cross section and said key protrusions are configured to seat at diametrically opposed corners of said housing.
- 13. An optical fiber assembly comprising:
an optical fiber; a ferrule assembly having a first contact surface and at least one bore hole in which said optical fiber is disposed; a positioning member having a second contact surface and an aperture in which said ferrule assembly is disposed thereby defining a first interface in which a first radial position relationship between said ferrule assembly and said position member is maintained; and a housing in which said position member and said ferrule assembly are disposed, said housing and said second surface of said position member define a second interface such that a second radial position relationship between said position member and said housing is maintained, wherein the interface associated with one of said first or second radial position relationship is an interference fit and said one radial position relationship is adjustable in increments less than a quarter rotation prior to effecting the interface, and the other radial position relationship is predetermined.
- 14. The assembly of claim 13, wherein said fiber is a polarization maintaining fiber.
- 15. The assembly of claim 13, wherein said fiber has a beveled end face.
- 16. A method of assembling an optical fiber assembly comprising the steps of:
(a) fixing an optical fiber in a ferrule assembly; (b) establishing a first radial position by fixing a first interface between said ferrule assembly and a positioning member; and (c) establishing a second radial position by fixing a second interface between said positioning member and a housing, wherein establishing one of either said first or second radial position comprises radially orientating said fiber with respect to either said positioning member or said housing and maintaining such radial position with an interference fit at either said first or second interface.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein optimizing optical coupling comprises maintaining polarization.
- 18. The method of claim 17, wherein said one of either said first or second radial position is said first radial position.
- 19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the following steps prior to forming said first interface:
(i) viewing the fiber through a microscope to identify the polarization maintaining axis of the fiber or the orientation of the fiber's beveled end face; (ii) altering the radial position of the position member relative to the microscope to effect proper radial alignment of the polarization maintaining axis with the position member; and (iii) effecting the first interface.
- 20. The method of claim 19, wherein step (ii) involves holding the positioning member fixed with respect to the microscope and rotating the ferrule assembly until the desired orientation is achieved.
- 21. The method of claim 16, wherein optimizing optical coupling comprises minimizing insertion loss between said ferrule and a mating ferrule assembly.
- 22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the following steps prior to forming said one radial position relationship:
(i) optically coupling the ferrule assembly to a test ferrule assembly; (ii) measuring light transmittance between the ferrule assembly and a test ferrule assembly; (iii) rotating the ferrule assembly relative to the housing until light transmittance is maximized; and (iv) effecting at least one of either the first interface or the second interface to maintain the radial orientation of the fiber assembly with the housing.
- 23. The method of claim 22, wherein said first interface is adjustable.
- 24. The method of claim 23, wherein said optical fiber has a beveled end face.
- 25. The method of claim 16, wherein said optical fiber has a beveled end face.
- 26. The method of claim 16, wherein the steps of forming the first and second interfaces are performed a single operation.
- 27. The method of claim 16, wherein the steps of forming the first and second interfaces are performed by different workers.
- 28. The method of claim 27, wherein the steps of forming the first and second interfaces are performed by different workers at different locations.
RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to Provisional Application No. 60/280,777 filed on Apr. 2, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference in it entirety, including its appendices.
PCT Information
Filing Document |
Filing Date |
Country |
Kind |
PCT/US02/10280 |
4/2/2002 |
WO |
|