Patent ID: 11874505
Assignee: SENKO ADVANCED COMPONENTS, INC.
Field: Optics (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 19:
20. A fiber optic assembly comprising:
a fiber optic connector including:
a ferrule configured to form an optical connection with another fiber optic connector; and
an outer housing supporting the ferrule, the outer housing having a rear end portion, a front end portion and a longitudinal centerline axis extend between the rear end portion and the front end portion, the front end portion including a front end face, at least a portion of the ferrule being forward of the front end face, the front end portion including one or more protectors projecting forward of the front end face of the outer housing, the one or more protectors being shaped and arranged to protect the portion of the ferrule that is forward of the front end face of the outer housing,
the one or more protectors being configured so that the fiber optic connector and another fiber optic connector of identical construction can, starting in the same orientation, be mated together to form the optical connection by rotating said other fiber optic connector 180° about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline axis, aligning the longitudinal centerline axes of the fiber optic connectors after said rotating, and moving the fiber optic connectors along the longitudinal centerline axes after said aligning until the fiber optic connectors are mated to form the optical connection; and

a fiber optic adapter having a first port configured to receive the fiber optic connector and a second port opposite the first port configured to receive said fiber optic connector of identical construction, the first and second ports arranged such that the fiber optic connector and said fiber optic connector of identical construction form an optical connection when coupled to the fiber optic adapter;
wherein the fiber optic connector further comprises a polarity key configured to be coupled to the outer housing at one of a first polarity position or a second polarity position, wherein the fiber optic connector is configured to be coupled to the fiber optic adapter in a first polarity orientation or a second polarity orientation, wherein the polarity key prevents the fiber optic connector from being coupled to the fiber optic adapter in the second polarity orientation when the polarity key is in the first polarity position and the polarity key prevents the fiber optic connector from being coupled to the fiber optic adapter in the first polarity orientation when the polarity key is in the second polarity position.