Disposable optical fiber splice sleeve and method for applying same

A splice sleeve for recoating fused optical fibers, comprising:

• an outer tube, said outer tube comprising a series of perforations;
• and hot melt adhesive
• fiber recoating material positioned inside of said outer tube;
• wherein said series of perforations facilitates the removal of said outer tube from said fiber recoating material.

A sleeve configured to be inserted around a first optical fiber segment and subsequently positioned over a joined region between the first optical fiber segment and a second optical fiber segment for recoating the joined region of the first and second optical fiber portions, said sleeve comprising:

• a hollow tube having a continuous wall;
• fiber recoating material positioned inside of said hollow tube;
• and
• means associated with the hollow tube for creating a separation in the wall of the hollow tube.

A splice sleeve configured to be inserted around a first optical fiber segment and subsequently positioned over a joined region between the first optical fiber segment and a second optical fiber segment for recoating the joined region of the first and second optical fiber portions, said sleeve comprising:

• an outer tube formed by an encircling continuous wall and a tube separation assist feature;
• and
• fiber recoating material positioned inside of said outer tube;
• wherein said tube separation assist feature facilitates the removal of said outer tube from said fiber recoating material.

A method of protecting first and second optical fibers at a point of fusion, comprising:

• providing a recoating sleeve comprising an outer tube, a passageway, and recoating material disposed within the outer tube;
• threading the first optical fiber through the hollow passageway in the recoating sleeve;
• fusing the first and second optical fibers together at a point;
• positioning the recoating sleeve over the point of fusion of the fused optical fibers;
• heating the recoating sleeve;
• and
• removing the outer tube to expose the recoating material.

A sleeve configured to be inserted around a first optical fiber segment and subsequently positioned over a joined region between the first optical fiber segment and a second optical fiber segment for recoating the joined region of the first and second optical fiber portions, said sleeve comprising:

• an outer tube having a tube separation assist feature;
• and
• an inner tube including fiber recoating material positioned inside of said outer tube, said inner tube having a hollow central region to permit the threading of an optical fiber therethough;
• wherein said tube separation assist feature facilitates the removal of said outer tube from said inner tube.