Patent ID: 11906793
Assignee: 3M INNOVATIVE PROPERTIES COMPANY
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 13:
14. An optical connector assembly, comprising:
a housing having a mating end and an opposite cable end, and comprising:
a front support proximate the mating end;
a rear support disposed between the front support and the cable end; and
a middle support disposed between the front and rear supports and configured to move between first and second positions;

an optical ferrule adjacent the front support of the housing and comprising:
an attachment area for receiving a plurality of optical fibers; and
a light redirecting side for changing a direction of light received from an optical fiber received in the attachment area; and

a substantially flat optical fiber array comprising a plurality of optical fibers, front ends of the optical fibers received by and fixedly attached to the attachment area of the optical ferrule, the optical fiber array fixedly attached to the rear support of the housing, such that when the middle support moves from the first position to the second position, the middle support contacts and bends the optical fiber array about the middle support, the bend causing the optical ferrule to rotate about the front support of the housing.