A METHOD OF JOINTING OPTICAL FIBRES AND AN OPTICAL FIBRE JOINT

摘要

A method of effecting a joint between two optical fibres comprises positioning two cylindrical rods (1) with their longitudinal axes substantially parallel on a support device (2) of such a form that the cylindrical rods are constrained to lie in tangential contact with one another to define between them an interstitial space, the two rods and the support device forming a sub-assembly; aligning two optical fibres (5,6) in the interstitial space (9) defined by the two rods so that the end faces of the optical fibres substantially abut; positioning an elongate holding member (10) over the ends of the optical fibres aligned in the interstitial space to cover the interstitial space over at least a part of its length; and applying over the elongate holding member at least one resilient spring clip (11) which so engages the sub-assembly that the elongate holding member is urged towards the two rods to secure the optical fibres with their end faces substantially abutting in the interstitial space between the two rods.