Patent ID: 7070342

Claim:
A low profile splicer system for joining a first optical fiber and a second optical fiber along a common fiber axis by fusion splicing, the system comprising: a) a low profile fusion splicing head including a low profile fusion splicing stage comprising: (i) a clamping and fiber position adjustment system having holding means for holding said fibers substantially in a horizontal plane and motion means for moving said fibers in three orthogonal dimensions into coaxial, abutting alignment; (ii) an imaging optical system having a fiber imaging illuminator and a fiber image detector, said imaging optical system being adapted to acquire optical images of said fibers in a first imaging direction and a second imaging direction, said imaging directions being non-coincident light from a first source traverses a first optical path and light from a second source traverses a second optical path, each of said paths being multiply folded; (iii) an electric arc welding system; and b) a user interface having an output display and user input controls for activating the splicing system; c) electronic control circuitry having: (i) imaging electronics that receive the output of said fiber image detector and produce a display signal feeding said output display; and (ii) fusion control electronics operably connected to activate said electric arc welding system and supply high voltage thereto.