Tunable optical fiber connectors and connector and cable sub-assemblies and assemblies

A tunable cable assembly, comprising

• a cable having at least one optical fiber;
• a connector sub-assembly comprising an inner housing having an interior, a ferrule held by a ferrule holder that resides within the inner housing interior, and a retention body operably arranged adjacent the ferrule holder and comprising a first retention feature;
• a housing comprising two shells, the two shells defining a longitudinal passageway to pass a portion of the at least one optical fiber to the ferrule, the longitudinal passageway having a front-end section shaped to supports a portion of the retention body to inhibit longitudinal movement of the retention body while allowing for rotation of the retention body for positioning the connector sub-assembly in one of at least four possible select angular orientations relative to the housing;
• and
• an outer housing having an interior configured to receive the inner housing of the connector sub-assembly in one of at least four possible select angular orientations of the inner housing, wherein the outer housing engages the housing to inhibit rotation of the inner housing of the connector sub-assembly relative to the housing.

A housing assembly for a tunable cable assembly that includes a cable having at least one optical waveguide and a retention body having a crimp section, comprising:

• first and second shells;
• a crimp band that holds together the first and second shells;
• the first and second shells each having half-pipe passages that define a longitudinal passageway configured to operably support a portion of the cable and to pass the at least one optical waveguide therethrough;
• and
• wherein the longitudinal passageway has a front-end section that closely supports the crimp section of the retention body, the front-end section having a first retention feature that cooperates with a second retention feature of the crimp section to inhibit longitudinal movement of the crimp section while allowing for rotation of the crimp section within the front-end section.

A method of forming a tuned cable assembly using a connector sub-assembly having an inner housing and a ferrule supported by a retention body within the inner housing, a housing, and a cable having at least one optical fiber that includes a bare fiber section, the method comprising:

• a) supporting the bare fiber section in a ferrule while disposing a crimp section of a retention body of the connector sub-assembly in a front-end section of the housing that is configured to allow the crimp section to rotate while inhibiting longitudinal movement of the crimp section;
• b) rotating the crimp section within the front-end section of the housing so that the inner housing has one of at least four possible select orientations relative to the housing, wherein the one select orientation is chosen to increase a coupling efficiency of the cable assembly;
• and
• c) after act b), disposing an outer housing over the inner housing so that the outer housing engages the housing in a manner that inhibits rotation of the crimp section within the front-end section of the housing.

A tunable connector for use with an optical fiber cable that supports at least one optical waveguide, comprising

• a connector sub-assembly that includes a central axis, an inner housing having an interior, a ferrule held by a ferrule holder that resides within the inner housing interior, and a retention body operably arranged adjacent the ferrule holder and having a crimp section that includes a first retention feature;
• a housing comprising two shells, the two shells defining a longitudinal passageway configured to operably support a portion of the optical fiber cable and to pass the at least one optical waveguide therethrough, the longitudinal passageway having a front-end section that closely supports the crimp section of the retention body and that includes a second retention feature that cooperates with the first retention feature to inhibit longitudinal movement of the crimp section while allowing for rotation of the crimp section so that the connector sub-assembly is rotatable to one of at least four possible select orientations relative to the housing;
• and
• an outer housing operably disposed over the inner housing and that engages the housing to inhibit rotation of the connector sub-assembly relative to the housing once the connector sub-assembly is placed in the one of the at least four select orientations.