Patent ID: 7316511

Claim:
An optical coupling component for use in a two-way optical communication connector comprising: a columnar sending side optically functional section and a columnar receiving side optically functional section in a pair, both made from optically transparent synthetic resin material, and a joint section integrally molded with said optically functional sections and made from the same material as the material from which said optically functional sections are made so that said pair of said optically functional sections are mechanically joined to each other into one piece by means of said joint section, wherein: said joint section has a body portion and opposite joint end portions, and each of the joint end portions has a joint region adjoining a circumferential surface of the corresponding columnar optically functional section, each of the adjoining joint regions adjoins the corresponding columnar optically functional section in a circumferential direction of the corresponding columnar optically functional section for a length less than or equal to half the circumference of the corresponding columnar optically functional section, and each of said joint regions of said end portions of said joint section has a vertical width H that is less than a vertical width M of said joint section.