Article for cleaning optical fibers

Abstract

A cleaning device for cleaning the ferrule end surface of an optical fiber that has been installed in a connector, such as a connector coupler or bulkhead receptacle, comprises a cleaning head (22a, 22b, 22c). The cleaning head is made from thermally sintered polymers, e.g., thermally sintered particles and/or thermally sintered strands and provides a matrix of open-celled multi-directional pores. The cleaning head has zones (26, 28, 32) of increasing polymer densities from compression zone (26) to sidewall cleaning zone (28) to base zone (32). The cleaning head serves to lift, absorb, trap and remove contamination from the ferrule end faces (14a, 14b, 14c) and the end face of the optical fiber therein. The open-celled structure of the cleaning head (22a, 22b, 22c) allows the contact surface to compress both laterally and radially where it contacts the ferrule end, thus permitting effective cleaning for all ferrule end designs. The cleaning head may be used either dry or with a cleaning solvent.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.