Ferrule having alignment features for polishing operations and an associated polishing jig and method

Abstract

A ferrule is provided that includes a ferrule body defining a longitudinally extending groove that can serve as an alignment feature for polishing operations. In this regard, the ferrule body extends longitudinally between opposed front and rear surfaces so that at least the rear surface generally defines a substantially rectangular shape in lateral cross-section. In addition, the ferrule body typically has first and second major sides and first and second minor sides with the first and second major sides being larger than the first and second minor sides. The ferrule body defines the longitudinally extending groove in at least one of the major surfaces. A jig is also provided for engaging the longitudinally extending groove defined by the ferrule body in order to hold the ferrule in an aligned position during polishing operations. In this regard, the jig includes a jig body having an alignment feature for engaging a complimentary alignment feature of the ferrule. The jig also includes a support element capable of engaging another side of the ferrule, wherein at least one of the jig body and the support element is capable of pivoting. By appropriately sizing those elements of the jig body and the support element that contact the ferrule, the contact elements can be inserted through openings defined by the connector housing such that the front surface of the ferrule can be precisely polished after the ferrule has been assembled into a fiber optic connector.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.