Fiber optic connector and method

A fiber optic connector housing comprising:

• an exterior body configured to be received in a fiber optic adapter;
• a cavity defined by a rear portion of the connector housing;
• an anti-rotation seat coupled to the cavity, the anti-rotation seat including a plurality of longitudinally extending surfaces;
• and
• first and second contact lines positioned at a front of the anti-rotation seat adjacent a bore;
• the first and second contact lines being spaced apart on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the connector housing and parallel to each other.

A fiber optic connector comprising:

• an optical fiber;
• a ferrule surrounding the optical fiber;
• a hub retainably engaging the ferrule, the hub including an anti-rotation portion;
• a housing defining an anti-rotation seat configured to engage the anti-rotation portion of the hub;
• a spring disposed within a chamber defined by the housing and coupled to the anti-rotation seat, the spring biasing the ferrule through the bore of the housing;
• and
• an alignment arrangement formed by the connector, the alignment arrangement including first and second tapered regions formed on one of the hub and the housing, and also including first and second parallel contact lines formed on the other of the hub and the housing, the first and second parallel contact lines and the first and second tapered regions being spaced apart on opposite sides of a longitudinal axis of the connector;
• wherein the first tapered region engages the first contact line and the second tapered region engages the second contact line when the hub and ferrule are in a first rotational position relative to the housing so that an end of the optical fiber is maintained at a known orientation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the connector.

A method for using a fiber optic connector comprising steps of:

• providing a ferrule surrounding an optical fiber with a hub retainably engaging the ferrule, the hub including opposing first and second tapered portions;
• providing a housing including a first contact line positioned to engage the first tapered portion and a second contact line positioned to engage the second tapered portion;
• pushing the ferrule back to disengage the first and second tapered portions of the hub from the first and second contact lines of the housing;
• and
• releasing the ferrule so that the first tapered portion engages the first contact line and the second tapered portion engages the second contact line, thereby retaining the optical fiber at a known orientation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the connector.

A fiber optic connector comprising:

• an optical fiber;
• a ferrule surrounding the optical fiber;
• a hub retainably engaging the ferrule, the hub including an anti-rotation portion;
• a housing defining an anti-rotation seat configured to engage the anti-rotation portion of the hub;
• a spring disposed within a chamber defined by the housing and coupled to the anti-rotation seat, the spring biasing the ferrule through the bore of the housing;
• and
• an alignment arrangement formed by the connector, the alignment arrangement including a plurality of tapered regions formed on one of the hub and the housing, and also including a plurality of contact lines formed on the other of the hub and the housing, the contact lines and the tapered regions being spaced from a longitudinal axis of the connector;
• wherein the tapered regions engage the contact lines when the hub and ferrule are in a first rotational position relative to the housing so that an end of the optical fiber is maintained at a known orientation with respect to the longitudinal axis of the connector.